Scientists have conducted a study that may be one step closer to solving the question of how to prevent graying of hair. This writes MedikForum.
As family doctor Tatiana Zakharova told the publication, the researchers found that some stem cells have the unique ability to move between growth zones in hair follicles.
“However, as your hair ages, falls out, and grows back repeatedly, more stem cells get stuck in a compartment called the hair follicle bulge,” she noted.
These hairs cannot return to their original location, where proteins can help them regenerate into pigment cells. Unfortunately, in this position, your hair loses its normal color, resulting in a silvery cast.
The new study looked at physically aged hair in mice, focusing on animal skin cells also found in humans, called melanocyte stem cells, or MsCs. Hair color is determined by whether non-functional but constantly replicating pools of McSCs within hair follicles receive the signal needed to produce the protein pigments responsible for giving hair its color.
“The good news is that research has shown that McSCs are ‘plastic’ or adaptable, meaning that during normal hair growth they constantly move back and forth along the maturity axis, moving between compartments of the developing hair follicle,” she said. .
The problem occurs when they stop moving and get stuck in a stem cell compartment called the hair follicle bulge. Once stuck, McSCs remain in the bulge and do not retain their color. The researchers explained that McSC adaptability is absent in other self-regenerating stem cells, such as those that make up the hair follicle itself, which are known to only move in one direction over a set timeline as they mature.
Source: Rosbalt
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