Premature Graying as a Consequence of Compromised Antioxidant Activity in Hair Bulb Melanocytes and Their Precursors

April 2014 in “ PLOS ONE ”

Ying Shi, Long-Fei Luo, Xiaoming Liu, Qiong Zhou, Shang‐Zhong Xu, Tiechi Lei

premature graying antioxidant activity hair bulb melanocytes melanocyte precursor cells melanogenesis-related genes catalase protein hydroxyl radical scavenging activities gray hair antioxidants hair follicles melanocytes catalase

Studysummary This study found that compromised antioxidant activity in gray hair follicles affects both mature melanocytes and their immature precursors, linked to down-regulation of melanogenesis-related genes. Our plain-language summary of this paper — not a Tressless recommendation.

The 2014 study on 9 Chinese patients under 25 with premature gray hair found that compromised antioxidant activity in gray hair follicles affects both mature hair bulb melanocytes and their immature precursor cells. There was a significant down-regulation of melanogenesis-related genes in unpigmented hair bulbs and of marker genes typical for melanocyte precursor cells in unpigmented mid-segments. The study also found that catalase protein expression and hydroxyl radical scavenging activities were strongly repressed in unpigmented hair follicles. These findings suggest that reduced levels of catalase protein and activity could be contributing to the graying of hair.

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