Scientists discover cause of grey hair may be ‘stuck’ cells

Our hair begin to turn grey as we age (Source: Getty Images/Thinkstock)

Melanocytes, which are pigment-producing cells, continuously decay and renew. New melanocytes are made from stem cells and it’s these cells that the scientists believe become “stuck” in limbo in people whose hair has turned grey. “It is the loss of chameleon-like function in melanocyte stem cells that may be responsible for greying and loss of hair colour,” a senior investigator on the study, Mayumi Ito, said.

According to the study findings, “as hair ages, sheds, and then repeatedly grows back, increasing numbers of McSCs get stuck in the stem cell compartment called the hair follicle bulge, where they remain,” the report stated further.

Talking about hair greying, Dr Sai Krishna Kotla, Consultant Dermatologist, Yashoda Hospitals, Hyderabad said that the fundamental reason for this alteration in hair colour has remained a mystery, despite the fact that we relate it to the normal ageing process. “Melanin is a pigment made by hair follicles that is responsible for hair colour. Structures in the skin called hair follicles produce and develop hair. Grey hair results from the follicles’ decreased production of melanin as we age,” he said, adding that greying frequently begins at the temples and progresses to the top of the scalp.

“The development of hair follicles depends heavily on stem cells, which have the extraordinary capacity to differentiate into a variety of cell types. Melanocyte stem cells (McSCs) in particular are in charge of making the protein pigments that give hair its colour. More and more McSCs accumulate in a stem cell compartment called the hair follicle bulge as hair grows, sheds, and regrows throughout time. These trapped McSCs fail to regenerate into pigment-producing cells, which results in hair thinning instead of maturing and returning to their original place,” the expert explained further.

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