Protein can help fight baldness

13%. This is how many French people claim to suffer from baldness, according to A Ifop survey was conducted in 2015. And it’s a percentage that has remained stable for years because in 1990, that percentage was already 12%.

TGF Beta Protein

But a new study published in the journal Biophysical Journal Things can change. Researchers at the University of California, Riverside, USA have just discovered that the protein TGF-beta can control hair growth and hair loss.

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 do their work, the researchers studied hair follicles. They can be defined as the types of sinuses in which hair or hair is produced. It is the only human organ that renews automatically and regularly.

Control of hair growth and fall

Thus, during their experiments, the scientists found that the TGF-beta protein was able to control two very important periods: when hair follicle stem cells divide to grow cells and when hair follicles die. During this last moment, they discovered that even if a hair follicle died, its stem cells were still alive.

Signal for renewal

When the remaining stem cells are signaled to regenerate, they divide, make new cells, and grow into a new follicle.“, Qixuan Wang. This is 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 baldness.