Posted on 05/11/2025 12:32:27 PM PDT by Red Badger
A surprising discovery in hair follicle biology has scientists rethinking everything we know about baldness. A single overlooked protein appears to control whether hair grows—or vanishes for good.
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A newly published study in Nature Communications has identified a critical protein that helps sustain hair follicle stem cells, potentially opening the door to new treatment options for baldness. The research was led by an international team from Australia, Singapore, and China, and offers new insight into the biology of hair regeneration.
A Protein With Protective Power
Hair follicles go through repeated cycles of growth, rest, and shedding. At the heart of these cycles are hair follicle stem cells (HFSCs), which are responsible for producing new hair after the old ones fall out. In the new study, scientists discovered that these stem cells require a protein known as MCL-1 to function properly. When MCL-1 was deleted in mice, HFSCs quickly underwent stress and died. Without the stem cells, the process of hair regrowth halted completely.
In experiments where MCL-1 was removed from adult mice, researchers also shaved small patches of fur to test recovery. They found that in the absence of MCL-1, the shaved patches did not regrow any hair. In contrast, mice with normal MCL-1 expression experienced routine regeneration. This points to the protein’s essential role in maintaining healthy HFSC populations in adults.
Cell Survival and Stress Signals
The team further explored what happens at the cellular level when MCL-1 is missing. They discovered that while inactive HFSCs remained intact, once these cells were activated and began dividing, they were overwhelmed by cellular stress. This triggered the P53 protein, which is known for regulating cell death. In an additional experiment, researchers removed the P53 gene along with MCL-1 and observed a restoration of hair regrowth. This finding suggests that MCL-1 and P53 interact to maintain a balance between cell survival and death within hair follicles.
The research, published on March 29, 2025, emphasizes that MCL-1 is part of the BCL-2 family, a group of proteins that determine whether a cell will live or die. According to the scientists, understanding this regulatory mechanism is essential for developing future therapies aimed at preserving HFSCs.
Hair follicles are meant to die as part of their growth cycles, but if they don’t regenerate, baldness happens. Credit: Shutterstock
Signaling Pathways and Regeneration
Alongside the MCL-1 discovery, the study also highlights the importance of the ERBB signaling pathway. This pathway, which influences various cellular processes, was shown to support the survival of HFSCs by increasing the production of MCL-1. The researchers believe this link could provide another target for therapeutic intervention.
The experiments were led by Hui San Chin and colleagues and provide strong evidence that manipulating ERBB signaling might be a viable method to enhance MCL-1 activity. Since MCL-1 cannot be delivered directly to cells in topical form, alternative strategies like boosting ERBB function are being considered. As noted in the article, MCL-1 is “a protein that acts inside the cell that makes it,” and therefore cannot easily pass through the membrane or survive digestion.
Future Directions in Alopecia Research
Alopecia affects roughly 2% of the global population at some point in their lives. While various causes exist—from autoimmune disorders to hormonal imbalances—the inability of follicles to regenerate plays a significant role in long-term hair loss. This new study proposes that safeguarding MCL-1 may be essential to maintaining regenerative capability in HFSCs.
The scientists suggest that more work is needed to explore how MCL-1 operates in humans, but the findings lay the groundwork for future research. Understanding how MCL-1 interacts with stress pathways and external signaling molecules such as ERBB may be critical in developing treatments that can prevent or reverse baldness.
As did Yul Brenner before him.
I’ve always wondered why men go bald but grow hair everywhere else. 🤷♂️
There’s the episode of The Untouchables in which Savalas made a guest appearance some years before he adopted the shaved head look (did it for a movie role in the mid 1960s and decided to keep it). Needless to say, he was balding at that time as well.
The Matt Bass Scheme?
Not in my galaxy.
I keep reading that but that has to be a more recent requirement because Im not 6 feet and once upon a time was busy enough that I occasionally went into hiding.
Assuming you are old enough to get the reference...
Most men are Daffy Duck.
A very small number are naturally muscle beach duck and another small number become muscle duck through a great deal of effort.
I was post barbell to the head muscle duck naturally.
Since the surgeries Santa stops by occasionally to make fun of me because he knows I cant catch him. Maybe I do need a taller potion, have any in the 7 foot range?
Some guys rock it and some guys don’t have a head shape for it.
Don’t wash your hands with it.
😏.............
I AM NOT BALD! My barber has lost his eyesight over the years. He always takes too much off of the top of my head and it makes me LOOK bald! That is my story and I’m stickin’ to it! ;-)
It was probably that one I am thinking of, as I saw a few bits of it some years back when it cropped up (miraculously) on a specialty channel up here. Looking at the IMDB, Telly did a couple of other episodes of that show. I remember also seeing him on The Fugitive as well.
So you’re telling me there’s still a chance
God created a few perfect heads. The rest He had to cover with hair
So, someday I can restore my baldness by chugging a cocktail of MCL-1 and ERBB in my smoothy and I can have Kookie lend me his comb?
The first thing they need to learn is how to prevent hair follicles from migrating to the nose, for Pete’s sake. And mine.
Dr. Wayne W. Dyer who used to be mistaken for Dr.Phil, asked how does my body know to make me bald but makes nose hairs and ear hairs grow even more as I got older?
He said to his barber: Since I only have a band of hair around the sides should you be giving me a discount for haircuts?
Barber: Actually I am giving you a discount. I’m charging you $5 for the haircut. The rest is my finder’s fee.
Photo....
True, commenters on SF TV show sites have said if we had hair growth research making progress in the early 2000s, how come he wouldn’t have a full head of hair by the future date in the series?
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