May 2026 in “Journal of Health and Allied Sciences NU” This study concluded that human epidermal stem cells cultured in MEM-α and EpiLife media with growth factors show high proliferation potential and plasticity, suggesting potential use in skin regenerative medicine.
May 2026 in “Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy” This study found that rete ridge morphogenesis in mammalian skin is directed by a BMP-dependent developmental program, which is evolutionarily distinct from other known pathways controlling the development of hair follicles, sweat glands, and fingerprint ridges.
September 2025 in “Experimental & Molecular Medicine” This study observed that the small molecules KY19382 and KY19334 inhibited cancerous traits in human cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma cells by suppressing the Wnt/β-catenin pathway, indicating their potential as treatments for cancers involving CDK1 overexpression and diseases related to CXXC5 accumulation.
January 2023 in “Czech Journal of Animal Science” This study found that down and guard hairs of Inner Mongolia Cashmere Goats have distinct protein compositions and physical properties, with keratin-related proteins potentially influencing these differences.
April 2019 in “Journal of Investigative Dermatology” In this study, engineered mice with a mutation similar to that in Olmsted syndrome showed progressive hair loss due to impaired inner root sheath keratinocyte differentiation and stem cell exhaustion.
April 2019 in “Journal of Investigative Dermatology” This study reported that gain-of-function mutations in TRPV3 lead to hair loss in mice by disrupting inner root sheath keratinocyte differentiation, ultimately causing follicular keratinocyte stem cell exhaustion and permanent follicle disruption.
May 2018 in “Cell stem cell” This study reports that myoepithelial cells in submucosal glands can act as reserve stem cells, regenerating surface airway epithelium after severe injury through a mechanism involving Sox9 and Wnt signaling.
April 2017 in “The journal of investigative dermatology/Journal of investigative dermatology” This study reports that 71% of patients treated with the gamma-secretase inhibitor PF-03084014 for desmoid tumors experienced dermatologic side effects, such as follicular lesions and pruritic eruptions, which were managed with topical or systemic treatments.
April 2017 in “Journal of Investigative Dermatology” This study found that the PON1 192 R allele was associated with an increased risk of psoriasis and altered lipid profiles in patients from Western Mexico.
April 2017 in “Journal of Investigative Dermatology” This study suggests that PKCß plays a critical role in modulating the dermal inflammatory microenvironment in response to dietary lipids in mice.
April 2017 in “Journal of Investigative Dermatology” This study demonstrates that genome-edited epidermal stem cells can continuously monitor blood glucose levels in vivo and potentially aid in diabetes treatment through skin somatic gene therapy.
April 2017 in “Journal of Investigative Dermatology” This study suggests that mutation-targeted siRNA therapy could potentially treat keratitis-ichthyosis-deafness syndrome by selectively reducing harmful GJB2 mutant gene expression in patient-derived keratinocytes.
In this study, researchers found that alopecia areata is linked to immune cell activation against hair follicle autoantigens and is associated with heart changes and cardiac marker alterations in humans and mice.
April 2019 in “Journal of Investigative Dermatology” This review examines clinical trials on low-level laser therapy for pattern hair loss but reports no definitive conclusions, highlighting the need for more controlled studies to resolve uncertainties.
April 2017 in “Journal of Investigative Dermatology” This study identified altered neurological pathways and potential drug targets involved in androgenetic alopecia, suggesting areas for future research and possible therapies.
January 2015 in “Journal of Cytology and Histology” This study suggests that follicular stem cells in the bulge region are not directly targeted in androgenetic alopecia, based on the consistent presence of cytokeratin 15 across scalp samples from affected patients.
1398 citations
,
May 2008 in “Histochemistry and Cell Biology” This review summarizes the cell type distribution and functional significance of human keratins, emphasizing their roles in tumor diagnosis and potential clinical applications, and reports no new clinical findings.
222 citations
,
September 2016 in “JCI insight” This research overview highlights that although JAK inhibitors show promise as potential treatments for alopecia areata based on recent insights into the disease mechanism, their efficacy has not yet been thoroughly evaluated in a systematic manner.
211 citations
,
April 2018 in “Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology” Keratins are crucial for cell structure, growth, and disease risk.
196 citations
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September 2016 in “JCI insight” This study explored the effectiveness of the oral JAK1/2 inhibitor ruxolitinib in treating patients with moderate-to-severe alopecia areata, building on prior success with JAK inhibitors in mice, but results are not reported in this abstract.
176 citations
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August 2015 in “The journal of allergy and clinical immunology/Journal of allergy and clinical immunology/The journal of allergy and clinical immunology” This study identified a distinct cytokine activation signature in alopecia areata, involving TH2, TH1, IL-23, and IL-9/TH9 pathways, suggesting potential targeting strategies similar to those in psoriasis and atopic dermatitis.
140 citations
,
August 2011 in “Biomaterials” This study observed that keratose, derived from human hair, integrated well in mouse tissue and remodeled with collagen, suggesting potential as a non-toxic biomaterial for regenerative applications.
87 citations
,
July 2009 in “The journal of investigative dermatology/Journal of investigative dermatology” This study found that beard hair medulla cells express an unexpected range of keratins, showing variability and promiscuous behavior in keratin interactions distinct from other hair follicle cells.
77 citations
,
June 2017 in “Advances in Therapy” This review discusses recent advances and ongoing clinical trials in novel therapeutics for alopecia areata, despite the lack of current FDA-approved treatments for severe cases, and reports no new results.
70 citations
,
April 2016 in “Experimental Dermatology” In this study, oral tofacitinib treatment led to significant hair regrowth and changes in skin and blood biomarkers in a patient with alopecia areata.
67 citations
,
December 2019 in “PloS one” This study found that beta-caryophyllene enhanced re-epithelialization in cutaneous wounds of female mice, suggesting its potential for improving wound healing through multiple pathways.
64 citations
,
January 2010 in “The FASEB Journal” This study found that prolactin is a key regulator of keratin expression in human hair follicles, enhancing specific keratin types and influencing epithelial stem cell-associated keratins.
61 citations
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September 2010 in “Genomics” This study found distinct gene expression profiles in alopecia areata-affected skin, suggesting T-cell mediated immune responses and unique gene profiles between different stages of the disease.
54 citations
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January 2018 in “Scientific reports” This study used proteomics to identify various proteins in human hair, which may help develop novel biomarkers for hair health, disease, and aging.
54 citations
,
November 2015 in “Methods in enzymology on CD-ROM/Methods in enzymology” This chapter reviews keratins in skin epithelia, including their roles in cellular function and disease, and reports no new experimental results.