Research Snippets: New Model for Hair Regrowth, Imiquimod Induces Autophagy and Apoptosis, T-Cadherin and Squamous Cell Carcinoma, PTCH1 Gene Haplotype and Basal Cell Carcinoma, Pediatric Androgenetic Alopecia Study
August 2010
in “
Journal of Investigative Dermatology
”
TLDR New hair regrowth model introduced, imiquimod kills skin cancer cells, T-cadherin loss makes skin cancer more invasive, no strong link between PTCH1 gene and skin cancer after transplant, and male teens more likely to have hereditary hair loss.
Miranda et al. introduced a new model for hair regrowth studies using intermediate hair follicles, which are more clinically relevant than terminal follicles and offer a realistic target for future research. Huang et al. found that imiquimod induces both autophagy and apoptosis in basal cell carcinoma cells, with these processes contributing to cell death. T-cadherin was shown to be a determinant of the invasive behavior of squamous cell carcinoma, with its loss leading to a more invasive phenotype. A study on the PTCH1 gene haplotype found no significant association with basal cell carcinoma risk after organ transplantation, except for haplotypes containing T₁686-T alleles. The largest series of pediatric patients with androgenetic alopecia (57 patients) revealed a male to female ratio of 2:1, an average age of onset at 14.8 years, and a strong family history of AGA, with some cases associated with polycystic ovarian syndrome and congenital adrenal hyperplasia.
