TLDR sPLA2-IIA increases growth in hair follicle stem cells and cancer cells, suggesting it could be targeted for hair growth and cancer treatment.
The study explored the effects of secretory phospholipase A2 group IIA (sPLA2-IIA) on both murine hair follicle stem cells (HFSCs) and human epithelial cancer cells. It was discovered that sPLA2-IIA promotes rapid proliferation in HFSCs, which leads to a decrease in label-retaining cells (LRCs) essential for stem cell maintenance, and this effect is mediated through the JNK/c-Jun signaling pathway. In contrast, sPLA2-IIA was found to enhance tumor growth in human oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and skin squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) cell lines by upregulating the same signaling pathway. Knockdown experiments of sPLA2-IIA in these cancer cell lines resulted in a significant reduction in tumor volume and decreased JNK/c-Jun signaling. The study, which included 3 mice per genotype and 19 human OSCC tissue samples, concluded that sPLA2-IIA has a context-dependent effect on cell proliferation, promoting growth in both HFSCs and epithelial tumor cells, and thus presents a potential target for hair growth modulation and cancer therapy.
7 citations,
September 2017 in “Scientific Reports” Mice with too much sPLA₂-IIA have hair loss and poor wound healing due to abnormal hair growth and stem cell depletion.
9 citations,
June 2016 in “Stem cells” Overexpression of sPLA2-IIA in mouse skin reduces hair stem cells and increases cell differentiation through JNK/c-Jun pathway activation.
35 citations,
January 2011 in “Journal of Biological Chemistry” sPLA2-X is crucial for normal hair growth and follicle health.
43 citations,
December 2008 in “Molecular biology of the cell” Disrupting Smad4 in mouse skin causes early hair follicle stem cell activity that leads to their eventual depletion.
October 2022 in “Experimental Dermatology” New technologies show promise for better hair regeneration and treatments.
April 2017 in “The journal of investigative dermatology/Journal of investigative dermatology” Researchers developed a method to grow human hair follicles using 3D-printed skin models and modified cells.
134 citations,
September 2008 in “Lasers in surgery and medicine” Low fluence photoepilation temporarily removes hair by targeting the hair follicle's pigmented area without severe damage.
66 citations,
August 2001 in “Experimental Dermatology” Human hair follicle cells can grow hair when put into mouse skin if they stay in contact with mouse cells.
236 citations,
July 2001 in “Trends in Molecular Medicine” Future hair loss treatments should aim to extend hair growth, reactivate resting follicles, reverse shrinkage, and possibly create new follicles, with gene therapy showing promise.
