Histochemical quantification of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity in human hair follicles.

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity was studied in hair follicles from both the bald and hairy regions of the scalp of 5 patients with male pattern alopecia by the application of the method of Lineweaver-Burk to the histochemistry and by the fluorometric method of Lowry. In vitro experiment showed that the incubation time necessary for yielding a certain amount of formazan is related to the amount of enzyme present. In the case of section experiment, the time required for the first appearance of formazan deposition in the tissue at various substrate concentrations was plotted against the reciprocal of the substrate concentration. The data obtained by this method seem to be consistent with the data by the fluorometric method.