The effect of parathyroid hormones on hair follicle physiology: implications for treatment of chemotherapy-induced alopecia

Analysis of Isotretinoin-Induced Alterations in the Levels of Plasma Trace Elements: Investigation of the Relationship Between Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Zinc, and Treatment-Related Side Effects

Isotretinoin is an effective treatment against acne vulgaris, but it also causes many side effects during and after the treatment. The relationship between the changes in the levels of plasma trace elements of patients with AV after 3 months of isotretinoin treatment and the side effects was investigated in the study. Plasma samples of 35 patients were collected before and after isotretinoin treatment. Samples were analyzed by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometer. After treatment, the levels of phosphorus, magnesium, and zinc in plasma increased statistically, while the level of potassium decreased (p < 0.05). The treatment had differing effects on zinc levels based on the gender of the individuals. With treatment, the levels of zinc in the plasma of men showed a greater increase compared to women (p = 7.3e-04). Additionally, the correlation matrix analysis revealed a strong correlation (R > 0.8) between magnesium and calcium. According to the study results, the change in phosphorus and potassium levels shows that isotretinoin affects kidney functions. The results suggest that phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, and zinc are associated with fatigue, dry skin and chapped lips, hair loss, and sebum secretion, respectively. Consequently, the study emphasizes the need for a comprehensive pre-treatment assessment, including monitoring of liver and kidney function as well as the levels of phosphorus and potassium in patients.

Epidemiology, Pathophysiology, and Genetics of Primary Hyperparathyroidism

In this narrative review, we present data gathered over four decades (1980-2020) on the epidemiology, pathophysiology and genetics of primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT). PHPT is typically a disease of postmenopausal women, but its prevalence and incidence vary globally and depend on a number of factors, the most important being the availability to measure serum calcium and parathyroid hormone levels for screening. In the Western world, the change in presentation to asymptomatic PHPT is likely to occur, over time also, in Eastern regions. The selection of the population to be screened will, of course, affect the epidemiological data (ie, general practice as opposed to tertiary center). Parathyroid hormone has a pivotal role in regulating calcium homeostasis; small changes in extracellular Ca++ concentrations are detected by parathyroid cells, which express calcium-sensing receptors (CaSRs). Clonally dysregulated overgrowth of one or more parathyroid glands together with reduced expression of CaSRs is the most important pathophysiologic basis of PHPT. The spectrum of skeletal disease reflects different degrees of dysregulated bone remodeling. Intestinal calcium hyperabsorption together with increased bone resorption lead to increased filtered load of calcium that, in addition to other metabolic factors, predispose to the appearance of calcium-containing kidney stones. A genetic basis of PHPT can be identified in about 10% of all cases. These may occur as a part of multiple endocrine neoplasia syndromes (MEN1-MEN4), or the hyperparathyroidism jaw-tumor syndrome, or it may be caused by nonsyndromic isolated endocrinopathy, such as familial isolated PHPT and neonatal severe hyperparathyroidism. DNA testing may have value in: confirming the clinical diagnosis in a proband; eg, by distinguishing PHPT from familial hypocalciuric hypercalcemia (FHH). Mutation-specific carrier testing can be performed on a proband's relatives and identify where the proband is a mutation carrier, ruling out phenocopies that may confound the diagnosis; and potentially prevention via prenatal/preimplantation diagnosis. © 2022 The Authors. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR).

A wild-derived inbred mouse strain, MSM/Ms, provides insights into novel skin tumor susceptibility genes

Cancer is one of the most catastrophic human genetic diseases. Experimental animal cancer models are essential for gaining insights into the complex interactions of different cells and genes in tumor initiation, promotion, and progression. Mouse models have been extensively used to analyze the genetic basis of cancer susceptibility. They have led to the identification of multiple loci that confer, either alone or in specific combinations, an increased susceptibility to cancer, some of which have direct translatability to human cancer. Additionally, wild-derived inbred mouse strains are an advantageous reservoir of novel genetic polymorphisms of cancer susceptibility genes, because of the evolutionary divergence between wild and classical inbred strains. Here, we review mapped Stmm (skintumor modifier of MSM) loci using a Japanese wild-derived inbred mouse strain, MSM/Ms, and describe recent advances in our knowledge of the genes responsible for Stmm loci in the 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA)/12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) two-stage skin carcinogenesis model.

Gene expression profile of human follicle dermal papilla cells in response to Camellia japonica phytoplacenta extract

Camellia japonica L. is a flowering tree with several medicinal and cosmetic applications. Here, we investigated the efficacy of C. japonica placenta extract (CJPE) as a potential therapeutic agent for promotion of hair growth and scalp health by using various in vitro and in vivo assays. Moreover, we performed transcriptome analysis to examine the relative expression of human follicle dermal papilla cells (HFDPC) in response to CJPE by RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq). In vitro assays revealed upregulation of the expression of hair growth marker genes in HFDPC after CJPE treatment. Moreover, in vivo clinical tests with 42 adult female participants showed that a solution containing 0.5% CJPE increased the moisture content of the scalp and decreased the scalp's sebum content, dead scalp keratin, and erythema. Furthermore, RNA-seq analysis revealed key genes in HFDPC which are associated with CJPE. Interestingly, genes associated with lipid metabolism and cholesterol efflux were upregulated. Genes upregulated by CJPE are associated with several hormones, including parathyroid, adrenocorticotropic hormone, α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH), and norepinephrine, which are involved in hair follicle biology. Furthermore, some upregulated genes are associated with the regulation of axon guidance. In contrast, many genes downregulated by CJPE are associated with structural components of the cytoskeleton. In addition, CJPE suppressed genes associated with muscle structure and development. Taken together, this study provides extensive evidence that CJPE may have potential as a therapeutic agent for scalp treatment and hair growth promotion.

Hormonal regulation in male androgenetic alopecia-Sex hormones and beyond: Evidence from recent genetic studies

Male-pattern hair loss, also termed androgenetic alopecia (AGA), is a highly prevalent age-related condition that is characterized by a distinct pattern of hair loss from the frontotemporal and vertex regions of the scalp. The phenotype is highly heritable and hormone dependent, with androgens being the recognized critical hormonal factor. Numerous molecular genetic studies have focused on genetic variation in and around the gene that encodes the androgen receptor. More recently, however, the availability of high-throughput molecular genetic methods, novel methods of data analysis and sufficiently large sample sizes have rendered possible the systematic investigation of the contribution of other components of the androgen receptor pathway or hormonal pathways beyond the androgen receptor signalling pathways. Over the past decade, genome-wide association studies of increasingly large cohorts have enabled the genome-wide identification of genetic risk factors for AGA, and yielded unprecedented insights into the underlying pathobiology. The present review discusses some of the most intriguing genetic findings on the relevance of (sex)hormonal signalling in AGA.

Scalp cooling to prevent chemotherapy-induced alopecia

Chemotherapy-induced alopecia causes an important impact on cancer patients and its risk of persistence is currently a considerable issue in cancer survivors. Of the various interventions proposed for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced alopecia, scalp cooling has emerged as an effective and safe strategy. This paper aims to provide an overview on scalp cooling and chemotherapy-induced alopecia prevention.

PTHrP treatment of colon cancer cells promotes tumor associated-angiogenesis by the effect of VEGF

We showed that Parathyroid Hormone-related Peptide (PTHrP) induces proliferation, migration, survival and chemoresistance via MAPKs and PI3K/AKT pathways in colorectal cancer (CRC) cells. The objective of this study was to investigate if PTHrP is also involved in tumor angiogenesis. PTHrP increased VEGF expression and the number of structures with characteristics of neoformed vessels in xenografts tumor. Also, PTHrP increased mRNA levels of VEGF, HIF-1α and MMP-9 via ERK1/2 and PI3K/Akt pathways in Caco-2 and HCT116 cells. Tumor conditioned media (TCMs) from both cell lines treated with PTHrP increases the number of cells, the migration and the tube formation in the endothelial HMEC-1 cells, whereas the neutralizing antibody against VEGF diminished this response. In contrast, PTHrP by direct treatment only increased ERK1/2 phosphorylation and the HMEC-1 cells number. These results provide the first evidence related to the mode of action of PTHrP that leads to its proangiogenic effects in the CRC.

A Clinical and Biological Guide for Understanding Chemotherapy-Induced Alopecia and Its Prevention

Chemotherapy-induced alopecia (CIA) is the most visibly distressing side effect of commonly administered chemotherapeutic agents. Because psychological health has huge relevance to lifestyle, diet, and self-esteem, it is important for clinicians to fully appreciate the psychological burden that CIA can place on patients. Here, for the first time to our knowledge, we provide a comprehensive review encompassing the molecular characteristics of the human hair follicle (HF), how different anticancer agents damage the HF to cause CIA, and subsequent HF pathophysiology, and we assess known and emerging prevention modalities that have aimed to reduce or prevent CIA. We argue that, at present, scalp cooling is the only safe and U.S. Food and Drug Administration-cleared modality available, and we highlight the extensive available clinical and experimental (biological) evidence for its efficacy. The likelihood of a patient that uses scalp cooling during chemotherapy maintaining enough hair to not require a wig is approximately 50%. This is despite different types of chemotherapy regimens, patient-specific differences, and possible lack of staff experience in effectively delivering scalp cooling. The increased use of scalp cooling and an understanding of how to deliver it most effectively to patients has enormous potential to ease the psychological burden of CIA, until other, more efficacious, equally safe treatments become available.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

Chemotherapy-induced alopecia (CIA) represents perhaps the most distressing side effect of chemotherapeutic agents and is of huge concern to the majority of patients. Scalp cooling is currently the only safe option to combat CIA. Clinical and biological evidence suggests improvements can be made, including efficacy in delivering adequately low temperature to the scalp and patient-specific cap design. The increased use of scalp cooling, an understanding of how to deliver it most effectively, and biological evidence-based approaches to improve its efficacy have enormous potential to ease the psychological burden of CIA, as this could lead to improvements in treatment and patient quality-of-life.

The parathyroid hormone regulates skin tumour susceptibility in mice

Using a forward genetics approach to map loci in a mouse skin cancer model, we previously identified a genetic locus, Skin tumour modifier of MSM 1 (Stmm1) on chromosome 7, conferring strong tumour resistance. Sub-congenic mapping localized Parathyroid hormone (Pth) in Stmm1b. Here, we report that serum intact-PTH (iPTH) and a genetic polymorphism in Pth are important for skin tumour resistance. We identified higher iPTH levels in sera from cancer-resistant MSM/Ms mice compared with susceptible FVB/NJ mice. Therefore, we performed skin carcinogenesis experiments with MSM-BAC transgenic mice (Pth^MSM-Tg) and Pth knockout heterozygous mice (Pth^+/−). As a result, the higher amounts of iPTH in sera conferred stronger resistance to skin tumours. Furthermore, we found that the coding SNP (rs51104087, Val28Met) localizes in the mouse Pro-PTH encoding region, which is linked to processing efficacy and increased PTH secretion. Finally, we report that PTH increases intracellular calcium in keratinocytes and promotes their terminal differentiation. Taken together, our data suggest that Pth is one of the genes responsible for Stmm1, and serum iPTH could serve as a prevention marker of skin cancer and a target for new therapies.