Groundbreaking study could rewrite textbooks about how hair grows and spark new treatments
Breakthrough study into hair growth could lead to new treatments
- A new study has revealed that human hair is actively pulled upwards by a coordinated network of moving cells, challenging the long-held belief that it is pushed from the root.
- Researchers from Queen Mary University of London used advanced 3D imaging to observe this previously unseen cellular network within hair follicles in real time.
- The study found that disrupting the protein actin, which enables cell contraction and movement, reduced hair growth by over 80 per cent, while blocking cell division had little effect.
- Computer simulations confirmed that the pulling force generated by the actin protein, linked to coordinated movement in the follicle's outer layers, is crucial for hair's upward movement.
- This new understanding of the mechanical forces behind hair growth could pave the way for developing novel treatments for hair loss and advancing regenerative medicine.