THE ESSENTIAL
- Baldness is an absence or loss of hair.
- Women are less affected than men by baldness: 2% against 25%.
13%. This is the number of French people who declare to be suffering from baldness, according to a Ifop survey carried out in 2015. A proportion that has remained stable for years because, in 1990, this percentage was already 12%.
TGF-beta protein
But a new study published in the journal Biophysical Journal could well change things. Researchers at the University of California at Riverside, in the United States, have just discovered that the TGF-beta protein could control hair growth and hair loss.
The stem cells
In science fiction, when characters quickly heal from wounds, the idea is that stem cells made it possible, explains Qixuan Wang, one of the authors. In real life, our new research brings us closer to understanding stem cell behavior, so we can control it and promote wound healing”.
To carry out their work, the researchers studied the hair follicles. These can be defined as kinds of pockets in which hair or hair is produced. It is the only human organ that regenerates automatically and regularly.
Control hair growth and hair loss
Thus, during their experiments, the scientists found that the TGF-beta protein was able to control two very important times: when hair follicle stem cells divide for cell growth and when the hair follicle dies. During this last moment, they discovered that even if the hair follicle dies, its stem cells are still alive.
A signal to regenerate
When surviving stem cells are signaled to regenerate, they divide, make new cells and grow into a new follicle“, develops Qixuan Wang. And this, thanks to the signal sent by the TGF-beta protein.
Ultimately, the researchers hope that this discovery will allow them to develop a treatment to activate follicular stem cells and thus stimulate hair growth and fight against baldness.
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