Minoxidil Downregulates Interleukin-1 Alpha Gene Expression in HaCaT Cells

In 2018, a study was conducted to understand the mechanism of action of Minoxidil, a common treatment for hair loss. The research focused on the role of the Interleukin-1 alpha (IL-1α) gene, known to inhibit hair growth, in conditions like male androgenetic alopecia and alopecia areata. The study found that Minoxidil significantly reduced the expression of IL-1α in human skin cells (HaCaT cells) by 0.3433-fold compared to untreated cells (P = 0.001). This suggests that Minoxidil's anti-inflammatory effect, as evidenced by the downregulation of IL-1α gene expression, may be one of its mechanisms of action in treating alopecia. The study also proposed that sulfotransferase activity in hair follicles, involved in the metabolism of Minoxidil, could predict a patient's response to the treatment.