Melatonin Protects K15+ Human Hair Follicle Stem Cells Against Paclitaxel-Induced Damage Ex Vivo

The pilot study tested the potential of melatonin, a neurohormone with oxidative and DNA damage-protective effects, as a protectant for K15+ human hair follicle stem cells (HFSCs) against damage caused by the chemotherapy drug paclitaxel (PTX), a common cause of chemotherapy-induced alopecia (CIA). The study used healthy human scalp anagen VI hair follicles from 2 donors, exposing them to PTX with and without melatonin. Results showed that melatonin preserved the number of K15+ HFSCs, reduced PTX-induced HFSC apoptosis, promoted HFSC proliferation, reduced double-stranded DNA breaks in HFSCs, and reduced PTX-induced pathological epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). These findings suggest that topical application of melatonin could be a promising strategy to prevent taxane-induced permanent CIA, potentially enhancing the efficacy of scalp cooling caps.