The power of communication? Researchers discover cell interactions improve hair growth

29 Jun 2022 --- New hair follicles are produced as a result of an interaction between immune cells called regulatory T cells and skin cells that use a hormone as a messenger: improving hair growth, discovers US-based researchers at Salk Institute for Biological Studies.

They suggest that the discovery may be applied to treat alopecia, a condition in which an individual's immune system destroys their own hair follicles, resulting in hair loss.

This study showed that regulatory T cells and glucocorticoids have a regenerative effect on hair follicles, in addition to being immunosuppressants.

The researchers initially weren’t interested in hair loss at the start of their study as they were researching the functions of regulatory T cells and glucocorticoids in multiple sclerosis, Crohn's disease, and asthma. Glucocorticoids are steroid hormones widely used for the treatment of inflammation, autoimmune diseases, and cancer.

Finding a new angle
When the researchers were not making progress with their initial project, they turned to skin tissue, where regulatory T cells express unusually high amounts of glucocorticoid receptors (which react to glucocorticoid hormones) and reasoned that it would yield a more fruitful outcome.

Mice were used for this part of the study. The researchers produced hair loss in both healthy mice and mice lacking glucocorticoid receptors in their regulatory T cells.

“After two weeks, we saw a noticeable difference between the mice – the normal mice grew back their hair, but the mice without glucocorticoid receptors barely could,” Zhi Liu, a postdoctoral fellow in the Zheng lab and the main author, explains.

From left: Ye Zheng and Zhi Liu, leading researchers in this study.“It was very striking, and it showed us the right direction for moving forward.”

Communication for regeneration
According to the research, regulatory T cells and hair follicle stem cells must communicate in some way, to make hair regeneration possible.

The researchers looked into the behavior of regulatory T cells and glucocorticoid receptors in skin tissue samples using a range of methods for monitoring multicellular communication.

They discovered that glucocorticoids direct regulatory T lymphocytes to stimulate the development of hair follicle stem cells. This interaction triggers the development of the protein TGF-beta3. The protein initiates the separation of hair follicle stem cells into new hair follicles and this finally encourages hair growth.

In order to monitor elevated levels of TGF-beta3 and other growth factors, the researchers will examine additional damage models and separate regulatory T cells from injured tissues in the future.

Trending treatments
After the condition alopecia became a topic of public interest following the controversial joke during the Oscars in Hollywood, a study revealed that a potential answer to aiding the condition could be a common arthritis drug.

According to the study, baricitinib can help in regrowing hair for those who suffer from this severe skin disease and one in three patients who participated in the study were able to regrow their hair.

Additionally, US researchers from Wake Forest University found that using Revian’s “low-level light therapy” had the potential to treat central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia (CCCA) – a kind of alopecia that affects African American women in particular. The treatment involves the use of the Revian Red System.

“Revian Red is the first and only FDA-cleared at-home system that not only stops hair loss, but also promotes hair growth with dual wavelength LED light,” John Oakley, executive chairman at Revian, told PersonalCareInsights.

Edited by Mieke Meintjes

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