Kanagawa Institute of Industrial Science and Technology, 3-2-1 Sakado Takatsu-ku, Kawasaki, Kanagawa, 213-0012, Japan.
Faculty of Engineering, Yokohama National University, 79-5 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 240-8501, Japan.
Sci Rep. 2024 Feb 27;14(1):4709. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-55377-y.
Considerable global demand exists for the development of novel drugs for the treatment of alopecia. A recent report demonstrated that oxytocin promotes hair growth activity in human dermal papilla (DP) cells; however, its application in drugs or cosmetic products is challenging because rapid degradation and relatively large molecular weight prevent long-term topical administration on the scalp. Here, we examined cinnamic acid, a small molecule activator for oxytocin receptor (OXTR) expression. Treatment with cinnamic acid led to upregulation of OXTR and trichogenic gene expression in human DP cells. Furthermore, inhibition of OXTR with an antagonist, L-371,257, suppressed hair growth-related gene expression in DP cells. These findings suggest that cinnamic acid enhances the hair growth ability of DP cells via oxytocin signaling. Additionally, we tested the hair growth-promoting effects of cinnamic acid using hair follicle organoids in vitro and observed that cinnamic acid significantly promoted the growth of hair peg-like sprouting. These promising results may be useful for developing hair growth-promoting products targeting oxytocin.
全球对开发治疗脱发的新型药物有很大需求。最近的一份报告表明，催产素可促进人头皮毛囊（DP）细胞的毛发生长活性；然而，由于其快速降解和相对较大的分子量，将其应用于药物或化妆品产品具有挑战性，这阻止了其在头皮上的长期局部给药。在这里，我们研究了肉桂酸，一种可激活催产素受体（OXTR）表达的小分子。肉桂酸处理可上调人 DP 细胞中的 OXTR 和毛发生长相关基因的表达。此外，用拮抗剂 L-371,257 抑制 OXTR 可抑制 DP 细胞中与毛发生长相关的基因表达。这些发现表明，肉桂酸通过催产素信号增强 DP 细胞的毛发生长能力。此外，我们还通过体外毛囊类器官测试了肉桂酸的促毛发生长作用，观察到肉桂酸可显著促进毛发样芽的生长。这些有前景的结果可能有助于开发针对催产素的促毛发生长产品。
