Roles of Melatonin in Goat Hair Follicle Stem Cell Proliferation and Pluripotency Through Regulating the Wnt Signaling Pathway

The study investigated the role of melatonin in the proliferation and pluripotency of goat hair follicle stem cells (gsHFSCs). It found that melatonin can activate the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, leading to increased expression of CTNNB1, a key protein in stem cell proliferation and self-renewal. This activation was maintained with extended melatonin exposure times. Melatonin also increased the proliferation of gsHFSCs and regulated the expression of RORα, BMP4, and NOGGIN, which are related to the differentiation and pluripotency of gsHFSCs. Furthermore, melatonin enhanced the pluripotency of gsHFSCs by stimulating the expression of stemness-related transcription factors—OCT4, NANOG, and CD34. These findings suggest that melatonin could potentially be used to stimulate hair growth and could be a promising treatment for hair loss conditions such as alopecia.