Quantitative mapping of human hair greying and reversal in relation to life stress.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Hair greying is a hallmark of aging generally believed to be irreversible and linked to psychological stress.

Methods

Here, we develop an approach to profile hair pigmentation patterns (HPPs) along individual human hair shafts, producing quantifiable physical timescales of rapid greying transitions.

Results

Using this method, we show white/grey hairs that naturally regain pigmentation across sex, ethnicities, ages, and body regions, thereby quantitatively defining the reversibility of greying in humans. Molecularly, grey hairs upregulate proteins related to energy metabolism, mitochondria, and antioxidant defenses. Combining HPP profiling and proteomics on single hairs, we also report hair greying and reversal that can occur in parallel with psychological s

SUBMITTER: Rosenberg AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8219384 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature