According to a recent study, hair may turn gray when stem cells with a tendency to wander are prevented from doing so. William Lowry, a hair follicle biologist at UCLA, describes this movement as unusual behavior for stem cells, which typically settle into a niche and divide when necessary. Lowry, who coauthored a commentary on the study that was published in Nature on April 19, explains that “their progeny go off and do interesting things… whereas the stem cells typically stay put.” Although he was not involved in the study, he finds the results intriguing.
Stem cells are immature cells that produce more of themselves and give rise to cells that will mature to perform specific tasks. Melanocyte stem cells, for example, can become melanocytes, which are responsible for producing pigments that give hair and skin their color.
Stem cell biologists Qi Sun and Mayumi Ito Suzuki from New York University Grossman School of Medicine did not set out to study gray hair. Instead, they wanted to investigate the behavior of melanocyte stem cells in hair follicles. The researchers had previously linked these cells to melanoma skin cancer.
Article from www.sciencenews.org
