{"id":51551,"date":"2025-09-08T21:21:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-08T21:21:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/51551\/"},"modified":"2025-09-08T21:21:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-08T21:21:08","slug":"experimental-drug-pp405-may-wake-up-dormant-follicles-to-regrow-hair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/51551\/","title":{"rendered":"Experimental Drug PP405 May Wake Up Dormant Follicles to Regrow Hair"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul data-node-id=\"1\" class=\"css-kw9lqy emevuu60\">\n<li data-node-id=\"1.0\">Researchers have developed a new drug that regrows hair by reactivating dormant hair follicle cells.<\/li>\n<li data-node-id=\"1.1\">The approach is different than current treatments, which only slow down hair loss. It reactivates hair follicles by boosting the body\u2019s natural availability of lactate, which directly affects the follicles\u2019 ability to grow hair. <\/li>\n<li data-node-id=\"1.2\">Safety trials are done and a trial to test its effectiveness is planned for next year. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"3\" class=\"body-dropcap css-f8e2h7 emevuu60\">For millennia, thick, healthy <a href=\"https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/science\/a64254442\/reverse-baldness\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/science\/a64254442\/reverse-baldness\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"hair\" data-node-id=\"3.1\" class=\"body-link css-1d8p8n5 emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">hair<\/a> has symbolized both masculine virility and feminine appeal. So when hair thins or disappears altogether\u2014which happens to approximately 80 percent of men and 50 percent of women\u2014the hit to self-esteem can feel almost existential. Soon, however, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/science\/a65350192\/baldness-cure-sugar-study\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/science\/a65350192\/baldness-cure-sugar-study\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"hair loss\" data-node-id=\"3.3\" class=\"body-link css-1d8p8n5 emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">hair loss<\/a> sufferers might have a new option in their toolkit. And if early results hold up, this drug could prove to be the most effective solution yet.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"4\" class=\"css-i9p093 emevuu60\">That\u2019s because unlike existing treatments like minoxidil and finasteride, which merely slow down hair loss, PP405 sparks new <a href=\"https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/science\/health\/a65035876\/gray-hair-could-be-reversible-study\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/science\/health\/a65035876\/gray-hair-could-be-reversible-study\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"hair\" data-node-id=\"4.1\" class=\"body-link css-1d8p8n5 emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">hair<\/a> growth. \u201cPP405 wakes up dormant hair follicles, so the mechanism is very different,\u201d says Heather Christofk, Ph.D., a biochemist at UCLA, whose lab helped develop the molecule. Their work is published in the journal <a href=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC5657543\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC5657543\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Nature Cell Biology\" data-node-id=\"4.3\" class=\"body-link css-1d8p8n5 emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Nature Cell Biology<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"5\" class=\"css-i9p093 emevuu60\">Typically, hair toggles through phases of activity and rest, governed by the hair-follicle stem cells. In periods of activity, these cells awaken and regenerate the hair follicle, developing into the different components that make up hair. But when they\u2019re resting, the hair stops growing and eventually falls out. With illness, stress, or an unlucky roll of the genetic dice, these stem cells can become permanently dormant. <\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"7\" class=\"css-i9p093 emevuu60\">But Christofk and her collaborator, William Lowry, Ph.D., a stem cell biologist at UCLA, discovered a way to wake them back up.   <\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"8\" class=\"css-i9p093 emevuu60\">\u201cWe found that hair follicle stem cells have a really different metabolism when they<strong data-node-id=\"8.1\"\/>\u2019re asleep versus when they\u2019re active and giving rise to new hair,\u201d  Christofk says. Specifically, hair follicle stem cells that are \u201con\u201d have more lactate, a key molecule for creating energy without oxygen. (Most cells create energy via a route that requires oxygen). So Christofk wondered whether increasing lactate levels in sleeping hair-follicle stem cells might switch them on.<\/p>\n<p>Related:<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"10\" class=\"css-i9p093 emevuu60\">To test their theory, the researchers took advantage of a quirk of mouse biology. Mice are born without fur and their first few rounds of hair growth are synchronized. In this initial period, then, scientists can pinpoint the timing of the stem cells\u2019 active and resting phases with exquisite precision. In one experiment, for example, they bred mice in which they could turn off the gene for lactate dehydrogenase, the enzyme that produces lactate. Unlike their normal peers, who regrew their fur 70 days after being shaved, these mice remained bald. Analysis confirmed that the animals had low lactate levels in their hair-follicle stem cells, and that lactate has a positive effect on hair growth.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"11\" class=\"css-i9p093 emevuu60\">On the flip side, when researchers genetically impaired the mice\u2019s ability to move pyruvate (a molecule that turns into lactate) into their mitochondria (the powerhouse of the cell), more of it was converted into lactate instead. As a result, these mice grew hair more quickly than their normal counterparts. The scientists then confirmed this by treating normal mice with UK-5099, a molecule that blocks the same pyruvate-moving protein. Those mice also sprouted hair earlier.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"12\" class=\"css-i9p093 emevuu60\">\u201cIt was remarkable,\u201d Christofk says. \u201cWe saw hair growing on these mice at a time when they shouldn\u2019t be growing hair.\u201d <\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"13\" class=\"css-i9p093 emevuu60\">Lowry and Christofk soon recruited fellow UCLA professor and medicinal chemist, Michael Jung, Ph.D., who helped them design an analog of UK-5099\u2014dubbed PP405, after a major thoroughfare in Southern California. Not only was PP405 better at inhibiting the protein that moved pyruvate into mitochondria, its action was confined to the scalp. \u201cEven when we put it in the blood, it\u2019s not stable in the blood,\u201d Christofk says. This means it\u2019s unlikely to cause side effects, a problem that plagues other drugs that treat hair loss.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"14\" class=\"css-i9p093 emevuu60\">The three collaborators founded Pelage Pharmaceuticals in Los Angeles to continue research on PP405, with the aim of bringing it to market. To date, the drug, applied topically to the scalp, has gone through two clinical trials to test safety. The next target: a trial to test its effectiveness, set to begin next year.  <\/p>\n<p>Related:<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"16\" class=\"css-i9p093 emevuu60\">Still, as a scientist focused on fundamental mechanisms, Christofk is interested in how metabolism influences a cell\u2019s decisions. We know that recreating the environment of an active hair-follicle stem cell (for high lactate levels) can awaken a dormant one, even when other signals are telling it to stay quiet. But how is lactate doing this?<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"17\" class=\"css-i9p093 emevuu60\">Unfortunately, the answer to this question\u2014which could spur other advances in regenerative medicine\u2014may be a long way off. Federal funding for the project fell victim to the Trump Administration\u2019s widespread cuts at UCLA. Christofk and her collaborators are now scrambling to find alternative sources of support. <\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"18\" class=\"css-i9p093 emevuu60\">Meanwhile, Pelage Pharmaceuticals will proceed with the next phase of clinical trials for PP405. And while Christofk wouldn\u2019t speculate on a go-to-market date, she\u2019s optimistic about the drug\u2019s prospects. \u201cWe hope that it\u2019ll be useful for more people, and also for people suffering from different types of hair loss\u201d like chemotherapy-induced hair loss, she says.  <\/p>\n<p>Get Stronger With An Exclusive MH Program<img decoding=\"async\" data-dynamic-svg=\"true\" src=\"https:\/\/www.menshealth.com\/_assets\/design-tokens\/fre\/static\/icons\/arrow-left-regular.dc4f48a.svg?primary=%2523D4D4D4\" loading=\"lazy\" data-testid=\"dynamic-svg-base\" height=\"auto\" width=\"auto\" aria-label=\"Prev carousel button\" alt=\"Chevron Left Icon\" data-theme-key=\"icon-button-icon\" class=\"css-18znc9e ev3kbku0\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" data-dynamic-svg=\"true\" src=\"https:\/\/www.menshealth.com\/_assets\/design-tokens\/fre\/static\/icons\/arrow-right-regular.e879c19.svg?primary=%2523fff\" loading=\"lazy\" data-testid=\"dynamic-svg-base\" height=\"auto\" width=\"auto\" aria-label=\"Next carousel button\" alt=\"Chevron Right Icon\" data-theme-key=\"icon-button-icon\" class=\"css-18znc9e ev3kbku0\"\/><img src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/557eb5d2-4099-496d-a81b-5e7a456ab3c3_1688069081.png\" alt=\"Headshot of Connie Chang\" title=\"Headshot of Connie Chang\" width=\"100%\" height=\"100%\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"css-o0wq4v ev8dhu53\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Connie Chang is a freelance writer in the Bay Area &#8212; covering science, parenting and health. She&#8217;s a recovering scientist, inveterate knitter and fan fiction enthusiast.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Researchers have developed a new drug that regrows hair by reactivating dormant hair follicle cells. The approach is&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":51552,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[77],"tags":[5780,16749,18,19,17,133],"class_list":{"0":"post-51551","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-science","8":"tag-carousel","9":"tag-coresynd","10":"tag-eire","11":"tag-ie","12":"tag-ireland","13":"tag-science"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51551","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51551"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51551\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51552"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}