Insulin-like growth factor-1: roles in androgenetic alopecia.

Of all the cytokines or growth factors that have been postulated to play a role in hair follicle, insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) is known to be regulated by androgens. However, how IGF-1 is altered in the balding scalp has not yet been investigated. In this study, expressions of IGF-1 and its binding proteins by dermal papilla (DP) cells obtained from balding versus non-balding hair follicles were quantified using growth factor array. DP cells from balding scalp follicles were found to secrete significantly less IGF-1, IGFBP-2 and IGFBP-4 (P < 0.05) than their non-balding counterparts. Our data confirmed that the downregulation of IGF-1 may be one of the important mechanisms contributing to male pattern baldness.