All articles tagged with #hair graying
A study reveals that melanocyte stem cells respond to DNA damage by either undergoing senescence-coupled differentiation, leading to hair graying and protecting against cancer, or bypassing this process under carcinogenic stress, which may increase melanoma risk, highlighting a link between tissue aging and cancer prevention mechanisms.
Melanocyte stem cells (McSCs) are responsible for hair pigmentation, but with age, they can get stuck and become unable to perform their function, leading to hair graying. Researchers found that McSCs can switch between stem cell and maturing states, and dedifferentiate back into stem cells. The loss of chameleon-like function in McSCs may be responsible for graying and loss of hair color. The findings suggest that if McSC movement could be restored, it might prevent or reverse hair graying.
Melanocyte stem cells (McSCs) lose their ability to move between hair follicle compartments as people age, leading to hair graying. McSCs are plastic, meaning they continually shift between maturity stages and compartments within hair follicles. However, as hair ages and regrows repeatedly, more McSCs become stuck in the hair follicle bulge and are unable to mature into pigment-producing cells. Restoring McSC motility or moving them back to their germ compartment could potentially reverse or prevent hair graying in humans.