Inhibition of Rab27a and Rab27b Has Opposite Effects on the Regulation of Hair Cycle and Hair Growth

The study explored the roles of Rab27a and Rab27b in hair growth and the hair cycle, revealing that Rab27a is expressed during the anagen phase and Rab27b during the telogen phase in outer root sheath cells. Inhibition of Rab27a using siRNAs in animal models and human cells led to suppressed hair growth, while inhibition of Rab27b promoted hair growth and increased the expression of growth factors in human dermal papilla cells and human outer root sheath cells. The study concluded that Rab27a and Rab27b have opposite effects on hair growth and the hair cycle, with Rab27b inhibition potentially serving as a new target for alopecia treatment. The experiments were conducted in triplicate, but the number of participants or samples was not specified.