Design of a Multifunctional Biomaterial Inspired by Ancient Chinese Medicine for Hair Regeneration in Burned Skin

[waynakyo]

Great study. And it was cited as an exciting finding in that Nature article I posted earlier today, which I encourage you to read.
Basically four chinese herbs have properties that help hair regeneration in wound healing. This study looks at the science behind it. They see Quercetin-copper being the key factor. The results on mice, alas, are impressive. But this treatment has been used in humans for decades (in China).

Abstract​

In deep burn injuries, the dermis of the skin is often severely damaged, and hair follicles are also lost and lose the potential for regeneration. Therefore, the development of wound dressings that promote hair follicle regeneration has important clinical significance. In this study, inspired by an ancient Chinese medicine prescription, a novel fibrous membrane (P/Qu/Cup; P, PCL; Qu, quercetin; Cup, cuprorivaite, CaCuSi4O10) containing quercetin-copper (Qu-Cu) chelates was fabricated by using quercetin and a highly bioactive bioceramic (CaCuSi4O10) incorporated in PCL/gelatin electrospun fibers. The fibrous membrane can effectively release Qu and Cu ions to induce proliferation, migration, and differentiation of skin and hair follicle related cells, and the Qu, Cu ions, and Si ions released from the composite membrane revealed synergistic activity to stimulate hair follicle regeneration and wound healing. Our study demonstrated that the analysis of the common components in ancient Chinese prescription is an effective approach to design novel bioactive materials for regenerative medicine.

 

[waynakyo]

Here are some pictures from the paper

 

[Armando Jose]

Ancient and modern medicine chinese together
Inspired by an ancient Chinese medicine prescription (A.
pilosa (A), N. nucifera (N), B. carterii (B), and pollen typhae (P)), a
novel P/Qu/Cup composite fibrous membrane was successfully
prepared, which effectively stimulate hair follicle regeneration and
burn wound healing by releasing Qu, Cu ions, and Si ions, in which
the Qu-Cu chelates contribute to the synergistic bioactivity for hair
follicle regeneration, while Si ions together with Qu and Cu ions
synergistically promote angiogenesis.

Quercitin is the flavonoid in three of plants

 

[waynakyo]

Another one.
@FollicleGuardian: The main components that they found out to have this regenerative capacity are flavonoids (specifically quercetin) and copper ions. If I do a good search on copper ions and hair, I find copper peptide to be good for hair. It is good because it binds the ions. But we need someone with chemistry background to figure this out.

As the solution might be as simple as quercetin+copper peptide topical after wounding.

 

[Armando Jose]

Yes, probably Cu be crucial in our case, or maybe wounding .....

There are cosmetics with quercitin, and I bet that hair regrowth is not its main target
Quercetin is not used widely, but can be found in skincare from toners to creams. Try Ren Flash Defence Anti-Pollution Mist, Paula’s Choice Resist Advanced Replenishing Toner or Korres Quercetin and Oak Anti-Ageing Night Cream.

Skincare Alphabet: Q Is For Quercetin

What is quercetin, what is it used for, and what are its pros and cons in skincare?

www.vogue.co.uk

 

[waynakyo]

FIRST Copper peptides carry copper ions.

Available over the counter, but also in concentrated form:

GHK-Cu 50mg Copper Peptide

GHK-Cu is a natural peptide in human blood plasma, urine, and saliva. Research in animals reveals that GHK-Cu can improve wound healing, immune function, and skin health by stimulating collagen, fibro...

www.peptidesciences.com

Abstract​

GHK (glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine) is present in human plasma, saliva, and urine but declines with age. It is proposed that GHK functions as a complex with copper 2+ which accelerates wound healing and skin repair. GHK stimulates both synthesis and breakdown of collagen and glycosaminoglycans and modulates the activity of both metalloproteinases and their inhibitors. It stimulates collagen, dermatan sulfate, chondroitin sulfate, and the small proteoglycan, decorin. It also restores replicative vitality to fibroblasts after radiation therapy. The molecule attracts immune and endothelial cells to the site of an injury. It accelerates wound-healing of the skin, hair follicles, gastrointestinal tract, boney tissue, and foot pads of dogs. It also induces systemic wound healing in rats, mice, and pigs. In cosmetic products, it has been found to tighten loose skin and improve elasticity, skin density, and firmness, reduce fine lines and wrinkles, reduce photodamage, and hyperpigmentation, and increase keratinocyte proliferation. GHK has been proposed as a therapeutic agent for skin inflammation, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and metastatic colon cancer. It is capable of up- and downregulating at least 4,000 human genes, essentially resetting DNA to a healthier state. The present review revisits GHK’s role in skin regeneration in the light of recent discoveries.


SECOND
Quercetin showed interesting actions in cellular and animal based models, ranging from protecting cells from UV irradiation to support skin regeneration in wound healing.

Available online many places. Not sure about skin penetration/M Weight.

Third.
Si ions is a tough one.

 

[Dimitri001]

If I'm getting this right, they're talking about regeneration of existing, damaged follicles, not generation of new ones, is that right? In that case, are we sure this would lead to neogenesis in combo with microneedling?

 

[waynakyo]

No it is about generating new ones. Hair follicle regeneration is used loosely to refer to regenerating follicles in an area (could be new or renew). But the studies on wounding are clear that these are de novo hairs. New. The paper shows how cells aggregate to form a new follicle.

@Armando Jose I am new to microneedling, just started looking into it recently. What is the understanding of the folks there, they think that their follicles are regrowing healthier or that they are generating new ones? Follica's claim is that it creates new follicles.

 

[Armando Jose]

What is the understanding of the folks there, they think that their follicles are regrowing healthier or that they are generating new ones? Follica's claim is that it creates new follicles.

Posibly a mix of both
Although I do not rule out that new hair may appear, the most common process is to revive miniaturized hair

 

[Ganked By DHT]

Supplementary paper, go to page 8

I don't know exactly why the authors picked these 4 herbs as containing flavonoids inc. Quercetin and copper ions, seeing as other chinese herb used for hair loss normally has it as well. Most famously polygonum multiflorum.

Quercetin promotes human epidermal stem cell proliferation through the estrogen receptor/ β -catenin/c-Myc/cyclin A2 signaling pathway

 

[Dimitri001]

No it is about generating new ones. Hair follicle regeneration is used loosely to refer to regenerating follicles in an area (could be new or renew). But the studies on wounding are clear that these are de novo hairs. New. The paper shows how cells aggregate to form a new follicle.

@Armando Jose I am new to microneedling, just started looking into it recently. What is the understanding of the folks there, they think that their follicles are regrowing healthier or that they are generating new ones? Follica's claim is that it creates new follicles.

There's no doubt that needling causes neogenesis, but that doesn't mean they're talking about that rather than regeneration specifically. I mean, this IS also wounding so it's quite possible, but it's also wounding of a different kind, so IDK.

Have you read the paper? Do they say explicitly that they're talking about generating new follicles?

 

[waynakyo]

Yes I have read the paper. They show cells migrating to form a cyst which later became a follicle. There is no mention of existing follicles. I think the wound is so deep (you can see from the pictures) that I doubt any follicles survived. It is similar in humans, deep burns (3rd degree) destroys the skin and follicles. Poor mice.

Most of these studies start saying that mammals do regenerate lost organs yet...follicles seem to be different. So they are not talking about rejuvenation process, but creation.

My concern is that whatever people are doing in terms of dermarolling is nothing close to that. And humans don't just grow new follicles after a deep burn, there is a specific pathway that has to be activated. So it is possible that whatever results we are seeing are due to a process that fortifies existing follicles (either by generating growth factors, incredibly enhancing minoxidil, or something along these lines). Either way, this microneedling thing is very promising.

 

[waynakyo]

From the paper:

Burns can cause long-term sustained damage to skin tissue. H&E staining revealed that, on the 10th day, all the hair follicle tissues originally remaining in the dermis disappeared, and cells underwent apoptosis, forming a large number of cavities in each group
...

However, as compared with the blank and P groups, the P/Cup, P/Qu, and P/Qu/Cup groups began to form a new dermis layer, and the cavities in the dermis layer was significantly less and smaller. On the 17th day, the dermis layer in the P/Cup, P/Qu, and P/Qu/Cup groups was almost completely healed with only a small amount of cavities, while the blank and P groups still had a lot of cavities in the dermis layer. On the 24th day, the dermis layer in the P/Cup, P/Qu, and P/Qu/Cup groups were completely repaired with newly formed epidermal layers. In addition, neonatal hair follicle tissues were also observed in the P/Qu and P/Qu/Cup groups. In contrast, in the blank and the P groups, the dermis layer still had some defects, epidermal layers were not visible, and hair follicle tissues were not observed. Immunohistochemical staining of K19, a marker for hair follicle stem cells,33 showed that all the composite membrane treatments clearly enhanced hair follicle formation, and the intensity of K19 staining was higher than that of the pure polymer membrane and the blank control (Figure 6b). Furthermore, compared to the other groups, the P/Qu/Cup composite membrane showed the strongest intensity on the 10th day, and more hair follicle tissue was clearly formed on the 17th day. On the 24th day, the hair follicle tissue in the P/ Qu/Cup group further grew into a complete tissue, and the staining intensity of K19 began to decline, indicating that the newly formed hair follicle tissue was becoming mature.

 

[it2wi]

Quercetin is a powerful anti-inflammatory, blueberries being a good natural source. Personally have seen a lot of benefits from incorporating it into my supplement regimen, especially when I have an inflammatory muscle injury.

Great find