BALDNESS : HUMAN HAIRLESS GENE IDENTIFIED
It's not a
hair-brained idea: A new research report appearing in the April 2014 issue of The FASEB
Journal explains why people with a rare balding condition called "atrichia
with papular lesions" lose their hair, and it identifies a strategy for
reversing this hair loss. Specifically the report shows for the first time that
the "human hairless gene" imparts an essential role in hair biology
by regulating a subset of other hair genes. This newly discovered molecular
function likely explains why mutations in the hairless gene contribute to the
pathogenesis of atrichia with papular lesions. In addition, this gene also has
also been shown to function as a tumor suppressor gene in the skin, raising
hope for developing new approaches in the treatment of skin disorders and/or
some cancers
Identification of
hairless as a histone demethylase may shed new insights into its mechanism of
action in regulating skin and hair disorders," said Angela M. Christiano,
Ph.D., FACMG, a researcher involved in the work from the Departments of Dermatology
and Genetics and Development at the Columbia University College of Physicians
and Surgeons in New York, NY. "The genes identified in this study could
open up new opportunities for developing mechanism-driven approaches for future
prevention or treatment of skin diseases including skin cancer and rare forms
of hair loss."
To make their
discovery, Christiano and colleagues defined the histone demethylase function
of the human hairless gene, both in vitro and using cultured human cells. When
the hairless protein was mixed with specific histone substrates under defined
reaction conditions, the hairless protein causes a reduction in the level of
methylation modification of the histone substrates. Similarly, upon expression
of normal hairless protein, but not a mutant form of the hairless protein,
researchers observed a drastic loss of histone methylation in human cells. This
suggests that this may be the "on/off" switch for hair growth as well
as a promising target for some types of skin disease.
"Humans have
tried everything to keep their hair, from snake oils to spray-on bald spot
solutions," said Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of The
FASEB Journal. "Now, however, we are finally getting to the root of
the problem to manipulate one of the switches that control hair growth."
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