Researchers at Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH) have developed a peptide to promote hair growth and suppress hair loss symptoms.

Hair loss is a painful condition that affects millions of people worldwide and has various causes such as aging, hormonal disorders, and side effects of various drugs.

Treatments for hair loss include topical medications, oral medications, and hair transplantation. However, existing hair growth treatments have limits due to concerns about side effects or partial efficacy. As a result, there is a high demand for new drugs with a new mechanism of action to treat hair loss.

Against this backdrop, the team, led by Professor Chung Jin-ho of the Department of Dermatology, succeeded in developing a peptide that specifically binds to the adiponectin receptor to promote hair growth and suppress hair loss symptoms. Professor Lee Hyung-ho of the Department of Chemistry at Seoul National University also participated in the study.

“Adiponectin is a type of protein secreted by fat cells,” Professor Chung said. “This protein plays an important role in improving insulin resistance and to preventing obesity, diabetes, and arteriosclerosis in the body.”

The research team focused on the fact that there is a relationship between adiponectin deficiency in the body and the severity of hair loss. First, the research team found an important site where the adiponectin protein binds to its receptor in developing the peptide. Afterward, the team developed a peptide that can play the same role as adiponectin using the amino acid sequence of the corresponding region. The research team named this peptide APN5.

The team confirmed that APN5 peptide promoted the growth of hair follicles when applied to human hair follicles cultured in the laboratory. Also, using the APN5 peptide on mice, the team confirmed that this substance penetrates the skin and promotes hair growth in the living body.

“When we applied 0.007 percent of the APN5 peptide to a mice model, it showed a hair growth-promoting effect similar to that of minoxidil 3 percent, a hair growth agent approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA),” Chung said.

Chung stressed that the results show that APN5 peptide has a superior effect than minoxidil in concentration.

The research team expects that APN5 peptide will help develop new adiponectin receptor agonists by elucidating the structure in which the adiponectin receptor and APN5 peptide bond at the molecular level.

“The development of the APN5 peptide is meaningful in that it suggests the possibility of treating hair loss by stimulating signal transduction by adiponectin, a protein normally present in the body,” Chung said. “Also, we believe that the peptide can treat other skin diseases associated with adiponectin reduction, such as psoriasis, rosacea, and sensitive skin.”

Based on the results of this study, the team plans to start clinical research to develop a treatment for hair loss and conduct additional clinical research to develop a treatment for skin diseases such as psoriasis, Chung added.

EMBO Molecular Medicine has published the results of the study in its latest issue.