Abstract:

Androgenetic alopecia （AGA） is the most common type of hair loss and is usually caused by multiple factors. AGA is characterized by progressive miniaturization of hair follicles, shortened anagen phase, prolonged telogen phase, and the decrease of hair density. We studied the role of recombinant human calreticulin （rh-CRT） in promoting hair regeneration in androgenetic alopecia （AGA） mice. Hair regeneration was assessed by observing the overall and local appearance of the hair at different time points, the melanin index of the skin was observed by color tester, the change of hair diameter was detected by dermatoscopy, the change of the hair cuticle was studied by scanning electron microscopy, and the thickness of the skin and the dermal white adipose, and the number of hair follicles were further observed by HE staining. The results reveal that rh-CRT promotes hair regeneration, increases melanin index, significantly improves the diameters of coarse and fine hairs in AGA mice, and repairs the damaged hair cuticle induced by testosterone（TES）. In addition, it is demonstrated that rh-CRT significantly promotes the number of hair follicles and the thickness of the skin and dermal white adipose in AGA mice. The results suggest that rh-CRT promotes the regeneration of hair in AGA mice, which has important application value in hair regeneration products.

Key words: recombinant human calreticulin, androgenetic alopecia, hair regeneration