Supplementary Figures, Tables and Legends from Mobilizing Transit-Amplifying Cell-Derived Ectopic Progenitors Prevents Hair Loss from Chemotherapy or Radiation Therapy

    March 2023
    Wen-Yen Huang, Shih‐Fan Lai, Hsien‐Yi Chiu, Michael Chang, Maksim V. Plikus, Chih‐Chieh Chan, You‐Tzung Chen, Po‐Nien Tsao, Tsung‐Lin Yang, Mei‐Hsuan Lee, Peter Chi, Sung‐Jan Lin
    Studysummary Results are not reported in this study, which investigated the effects of radiation on hair follicles and evaluated various cellular responses and signaling pathways, particularly focusing on WNT signaling and the impact of Wnt3a treatment. Our plain-language summary of this paper — not a Tressless recommendation.
    The study investigates how hair follicles (HFs) respond to genotoxicity-induced injury from chemotherapy and radiotherapy, which often leads to hair loss. It was found that after low-dose ionizing radiation (IR), keratin 5+ basal hair bulb progenitors are activated to regenerate hair follicles, while high-dose IR causes outer root sheath cells to acquire stem cell-like properties to fuel HF regeneration. The research highlights that augmenting WNT signaling can counteract the suppressive effects of p53, enhancing progenitor cell proliferation and preventing hair loss. This suggests that targeting transit-amplifying cell-derived progenitors, rather than quiescent bulge stem cells, could be a viable strategy to prevent chemotherapy and radiotherapy-induced alopecia.
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