Protective effects of taurine on human hair follicle grown in vitro¹

Abstract

Taurine is a naturally occurring beta-amino acid produced by methionine and cysteine metabolism. It is involved in a variety of physiological functions, including immunomodulatory and antifibrotic. Taking advantage of the ability of human hair follicle grown in vitro to recapitulate most of the characteristic features of normal hair follicle in vivo, we studied (i) taurine uptake by isolated human hair follicles; (ii) its effects on hair growth and survival rate; and (iii) its protective potential against transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta1, an inhibitor of in vitro hair growth and a master switch of fibrotic program. We showed that taurine was taken up by the connective tissue sheath, proximal outer root sheath and hair bulb, promoted hair survival in vitro and prevented TGF-beta1-induced deleterious effects on hair follicle.

Efficacy of Autologous Platelet-Rich Plasma alone or in Combination with a Lotion Containing Growth-Factor like Polypeptides and Taurine in the Treatment of Androgenic Alopecia: A Randomized, Prospective, AssessorBlinded Trial

“…This lotion contains also taurine. This amino acid has several positive effects on hair bulb and hair growth [26]. These active components of the GFM-L are conveyed in nanosomes, which allow the rapid absorption and a deep release into the follicle.…”

“…The combined use of this lotion in subjects treated with PRP can amplify the growth hair stimulus but also counteract some negative actions on hair physiology of some components of PRP for example the TGF-β. Collins et al [26] have demonstrated that taurine blocks the deleterious effect of TGF-β on human hair follicule. Some limitations should be taken in account in evaluating our results.…”

“…Taurine is a relevant amino acid with interesting hair growth promoting mechanisms [26]. This lotion has shown to be effective as stand-alone approach in the treatment of excessive hair loss in men and women [27].…”

Penetration Profile of Taurine in the Human Skin and Its Distribution in Skin Layers

“…In the epidermis, a gradient was evident with maximal levels of TAUT in the outermost granular keratinocyte layer and lower levels in the stratum spinosum, but no TAUT was found in the basal layer. Taurine has shown to play an important role not only in the keratinocyte hydration but also to act as a protective agent against transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1, an inhibitor of in vitro hair growth (8). The survival rate in vitro was increased when isolated hair follicles are grown in the presence of taurine.…”

Quantitative detection of chemical compounds in human hair with coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering microscopy

“…Chemically selective detection of molecular agents in the hair has been achieved using techniques such as autoradiography7 and micro X-ray fluorescence analysis in combination with high-resolution SEM 8. Although such probing techniques are useful for determining the location of certain chemicals in the hair, they require sample preparation methods that can compromise the three-dimensional structure of the hair, obscuring a direct correlation between the distribution of the chemical and the morphology of the hair.…”