Emerging Role of Dermal White Adipose Tissue in Modulating Hair Follicle Development During Aging

October 2021 in “ Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology ”

Jian Chen, Zhexiang Fan, De-Cong Zhu, Yilong Guo, Ke Yao, Damao Dai, Zhi Guo, Yong Miao, Qian Qu

dermal white adipose tissue dWAT hair follicle development aging inflammation inflammatory cytokines CXCL1 hair loss veratric acid Vitamin A hair follicle regenerative behavior fat tissue cytokines

TLDR Fat tissue under the skin affects hair growth and aging; reducing its inflammation may help treat hair loss.

The study "Emerging Role of Dermal White Adipose Tissue in Modulating Hair Follicle Development During Aging" investigated the role of dermal white adipose tissue (dWAT) in hair follicle development and aging. The research, involving 20 young mice (2 months old), 20 aged mice (18 months old), and hair follicles from 12 human participants, found that as we age, changes in dWAT, specifically increased inflammation, can lead to hair loss. The inflammation is characterized by elevated levels of inflammatory cytokines such as CXCL1, which was found to inhibit hair growth. The study also found that reducing inflammation in dWAT, for example by injecting high-level veratric acid or Vitamin A treatment, stimulated hair follicle regenerative behavior in aged mice and increased hair weight. This suggests that manipulating dWAT could potentially be a new therapeutic strategy for treating hair loss and promoting hair growth.

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