AI to combat balding? ACS researchers design microneedle patches that restore hair

02 Nov 2022 --- Chinese researchers have used artificial intelligence (AI) to predict compounds that could neutralize reactive oxygen species that cause balding in the scalp. Animal tests were carried out on mice which proved to be successful in regenerating hair.

A “highly efficient” manganese thiophosphite (MnPS3) based superoxide dismutase (SOD) imitate was discovered using machine learning (ML) tools by researchers reporting in American Chemical Society’s Nano Letters. 

“Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is a common form of hair loss, which is mainly caused by oxidative stress-induced dysregulation of hair follicles (HF),” the researchers state.

“An MnPS3 microneedle patch (MnMNP) was constructed to treat AGA that could diffuse into the deep skin where HFs exist and remove excess reactive oxygen species. Compared with the widely used minoxidil, MnMNP exhibits higher ability on hair regeneration, even at a reduced frequency of application.”

Motivation behind the study
AGA damages the HF by androgens, inflammation or an overabundance of reactive oxygen species, such as oxygen free radicals. The body’s antioxidant enzymes, such as SOD, can get overwhelmed if the levels of oxygen free radicals are too high.

The researchers Lina Wang, Zhiling Zhu and colleagues were motivated to use AI to design a nanozyme for treating hair loss as the present nanozymes available are not effective enough in removing oxygen-free radicals.

They chose MnPS3 – a transition metal – after testing machine-learning models with 91 combinations to find the most potent SOD-like functionality. “In initial tests with human skin fibroblast cells, the nanosheets significantly reduced the levels of reactive oxygen species without causing harm,” the authors report.Hair regrew thicker in mice treated with a manganese-nanozyme microneedle patch compared to those treated with testosterone as a control (Image Credit: Nano Letters 2022).

Mice-pattern baldness
The team prepared MnMNP and treated mouse models affected with androgenic alopecia (also known as male- or female-pattern baldness) with them.

The study was conducted on male mice supplied by Jinan Pengyue Experimental Animal Breeding, China. 

Nine mice were randomly assigned to one of three groups: negative control (testosterone), experimental (testosterone and MnMNP) and positive control (testosterone and minoxidil).

“Within 13 days, the animals [in the experimental group] regenerated thicker hair strands that more densely covered their previously bald backsides than mice treated with current widely used testosterone or minoxidil treatments,” ACS reports.

The researchers say that their study both produced a nanozyme treatment for regenerating hair and indicated the potential for computer-based methods for use in the design of future nanozyme therapeutics.

In related news, Gencor’s HairAge-Vitae was found to considerably increase hair density and decrease the hair loss ratio of patients with alopecia. Following topical administration of A. conyzoides, the Gencor study observed a net increase in hair growth.

Edited by Radhika Sikaria