Improvement of androgenetic alopecia with topical Sophora flavescens Aiton extract, and identification of the two active compounds in the extract that stimulate proliferation of human hair keratinocytes.

BACKGROUND: Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is a hair loss disorder that commonly affects middle-aged men. To date, the properties of a number of natural or synthetic substances have been investigated for their ability to improve the condition. AIM: To evaluate the hair growth-promoting activities of an extract from the root of Sophora flavescens Aiton. METHODS: We used a human hair keratinocyte proliferation assay and ex vivo organ cultures of human hair follicle to examine the potential of the extract to stimulate hair growth via anagen elongation. We isolated the compounds promoting the growth of epithelial cells, and determined their chemical structures. A randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical study for S. flavescens extract was carried out for 6 months with patients with AGA. RESULTS: The extract stimulated the proliferation of hair keratinocytes at a concentration of 0.1 ng/mL, while 100 ng/mL of the extract had a marked effect on hair shaft elongation in an organ culture of human hair follicle. Cell proliferation assay-directed fractionation led to the identification of two pterocarpan derivatives, L-maackiain and medicarpin, as active compounds that promote the proliferation of human hair keratinocytes. Studies in human subjects showed that improvement in the inspected alopecia scores in the lotion plus extract group were significant over a period of 6 months (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: S. flavescens root extract is effective for the treatment of AGA. The isolated two pterocarpans might have important role in this effect.

Topical adenosine increases thick hair ratio in Japanese men with androgenetic alopecia.

OBJECTIVE: Hair thickness is more important than hair density in the appearance of baldness in male with androgenetic alopecia (AGA). Adenosine improves hair loss by stimulating hair growth and by thickening hair shafts in women. The objective of this study was to evaluate the hair growth efficacy and safety of topical adenosine in men with AGA. METHODS: A lotion containing either adenosine or niacinamide was administered to the scalps of 102 Japanese men twice daily for 6 months in a double-blind, randomized study. Efficacy was evaluated by dermatologists who assessed the quality of the hair and by calculating the percentages of vellus-like and thick hairs among the vertex hairs, as well as hair density. RESULTS: Adenosine was significantly (P < 0.05) superior to niacinamide in terms of global improvement of AGA, increase in the percentage of thick hairs (at least 60 µm) and self-assessment of hair thickness by the study participants. No causal adverse event due to the adenosine lotion was observed. CONCLUSION: These data indicate that adenosine increases thick hair ratio in Japanese men with AGA, and this compound is useful for the improvement of AGA.

Contribution of hair density and hair diameter to the appearance and progression of androgenetic alopecia in Japanese men.

BACKGROUND: Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is the most common type of baldness in men. The balding process is associated with the gradual miniaturization of hair follicles and successive hair loss. However, the relative contributions of hair density and diameter to AGA are still unclear. OBJECTIVES: Hair density and hair diameter were investigated in Japanese men with or without AGA to elucidate the importance of these factors in the balding process. METHODS: Male Japanese subjects with or without AGA (n = 369) were included in this study. Hair appearance at the vertex was evaluated by comparison with a series of standard photographs. Hair density was measured using a phototrichogram-based videomicroscopy technique, and hair diameter was assessed by comparison with a series of calibrated threads on the phototrichogram image. RESULTS: All subjects with AGA were ≥ 25 years of age. The mean percentage of thick hairs (> 80 µm) in all subjects with AGA was significantly lower than that in subjects without AGA aged ≥ 25 years (P < 0·01), but the mean percentage of vellus hairs (< 40 µm) in subjects with AGA was significantly higher (P < 0·001). By contrast, the mean density of the hair in all patients with AGA did not significantly differ from the density of those without AGA aged ≥ 25 years. However, the mean density of the hair in subjects without AGA aged < 25 years was significantly higher than that of both subjects without AGA aged ≥ 25 years (P < 0·001) and all subjects with AGA. CONCLUSIONS: Hair loss in men with AGA results mainly from the miniaturization of hair follicles rather than the loss of hair (shedding), at least for individuals who are ≥ 25 years of age and present with AGA.

Domain analysis of an archaeal RadA protein for the strand exchange activity.

Archaeal RadA, like eukaryotic Rad51 and bacterial RecA, promotes strand exchange between DNA strands with homologous sequences in vitro and is believed to participate in the homologous recombination in cells. The amino acid sequences of the archaeal RadA proteins are more similar to the eukaryotic Rad51s rather than the bacterial RecAs, and the N-terminal region containing domain I is conserved among the RadA and Rad51 proteins but is absent from RecA. To understand the structure-function relationship of RadA, we divided the RadA protein from Pyrococcus furiosus into two parts, the N-terminal one-third (RadA-n) and the residual C-terminal two-thirds (RadA-c), the latter of which contains the central core domain (domain II) of the RecA/Rad51 family proteins. RadA-c had the DNA-dependent ATPase activity and the strand exchange activity by itself, although much weaker (10%) than that of the intact RadA. These activities of RadA-c were restored to 60% of those of RadA by addition of RadA-n, indicating that the proper active structure of RadA was reconstituted in vitro. These results suggest that the basic activities of the RecA/Rad51 family proteins for homologous recombination are derived from domain II, and the N-terminal region may help to enhance the catalytic efficiencies.

Induction of apoptosis by dopamine in human oral tumor cell lines.

Dopamine dose-dependently reduced the viable cell number of both human salivary gland tumor HSG and oral squamous cell carcinoma HSC-2, HSC-4, and NA cells. CoCl2 significantly reduced both the cytotoxic activity and radical intensity of dopamine (determined by ESR spectroscopy). Dopamine produced DNA fragments (demonstrated by TUNEL method) and induced degradation of cytokeratin by activated caspase in HSG cells (detected by an immunocytochemical method, using a specific M30 monoclonal antibody). FACS analysis demonstrated that dopamine induced DNA fragmentation, a biochemical hallmark of apoptosis, in human promyelocytic leukemia HL-60 cells. The addition of catalase did not prevent the apoptosis-inducing activity of dopamine, reducing the possibility of the involvement of H2O2 for dopamine-induced apoptosis. Dopamine transiently induced p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAP kinase) phosphorylation. However, an inhibitor of p38 MAP kinase phosphorylation, SB203680, failed to inhibit the dopamine-induced apoptosis. These data suggest that p38 phosphorylation at an early stage may not be a causative event for apoptosis.

Effect of anticancer drugs, metals and antioxidants on cytotoxic activity of epigallocatechin gallate.

Various modulation factors for the cytotoxic action of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) against two human oral tumor cell lines (HSC-2, HSG) were investigated. Three anticancer drugs (tamoxifen, sulindac, doxorubicin), two metals (CuCl2, FeCl3) and two antioxidants (sodium ascorbate, tiopronin) did not significantly affect the cytotoxic activity of EGCG, Catalase and N-acetyl-L-cysteine only marginally reduced the cytotoxic activity of EGCG. On the other hand, CoCl2 significantly protected the cell injury induced by EGCG. This suggests that the site of EGCG action might be intracellular rather than extracellular. Possible involvement of the expression of transcription factor (s) for EGCG-induced cytotoxicity is discussed.

Inhibition of epigallocatechin gallate-induced apoptosis by CoCl2 in human oral tumor cell lines.

Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) induced apoptotic cell death in two human oral tumor cell lines (HSC-2, HSG), as judged by TUNEL method which detects DNA nick. Furthermore, the cytoplasm of EGCG-treated HSG cells was stained by M30 monoclonal antibody, which detects the degradation product of cytokeratin by activated caspase. The apoptosis-inducing activity of EGCG was significantly reduced by millimolar concentrations of CoCl2. CoCl2 also inhibited the cytotoxic activity of sodium ascorbate, gallic acid and curcumin, but not that of sodium-5, 6-benzylidene-L-ascorbate (SBA). This suggests that SBA, an antitumor agent, induces cell death by a different mechanism from that of other antioxidants used in this study. The possible role of CoCl2 for cell survival was discussed.

Progressive decrease in hair diameter in Japanese with male pattern baldness.

Fifty-six Japanese with male pattern baldness were evaluated for changes in their hair diameters over three years. The mean hair diameter significantly decreased each year. The average decrease was 1.1 microns per year. Although the percentage of vellus hair increased by 3.6% over three years, this increase rate was lower than that found in Caucasians. To precisely examine the change in hair diameter, the mean distribution of this diameter was investigated. At the beginning of the study, clear peaks were observed at 95 microns in the twenties and 45 microns in the fifties. The number of thicker hairs decreased and the high frequency peak shifted to a thinner hair diameter over 3 years. To quantify the change in the distribution of hair diameter, the percentage of hairs of more than 60 microns was examined. There was a statistically significant 5.61% decrease in the percentage of hairs with a diameter of more than 60 microns over three years. Our findings suggest that the progression of male pattern baldness in Japanese is slower than that of Caucasians and that the percentage of hairs of more than 60 microns is a sensitive index to evaluate the progression of male pattern baldness and the effects of hair growth or hair loss preventive agents.

Quantitative evaluations of male pattern baldness.

Several methods for the evaluation of hair growth have been reported; however, none of the hitherto reported methods are satisfactory as unbiased double blind studies to evaluate the efficacy of hair growth agents. In the present paper, we describe quantitative evaluation methods for hair growth by measuring the anagen ratio and hair diameters in 56 Japanese subjects aged 23-56 for 3 years. The average anagen ratio decreased by 3.8% in 3 years. The average hair diameters showed a statistically significant decrease each year totalling 3.4 microns. Subjects were sorted according to their anagen ratio into 4 groups. Each group showed different distribution patterns of hair diameters. The higher anagen ratio group has a high frequency peak at thicker hair diameters and the lower anagen ratio group has a high frequency peak at thinner hair diameters. The number of thicker hairs decreased and the high frequency peak shifted to thinner hair diameters in 3 years. These methods are useful to evaluate both the progression of male pattern baldness and the effects of hair growth agents with double blind studies in an unbiased quantitative fashion.