Heat Shock Proteins and Hair

[zetreque]

Tonight I decided to dedicate a few minutes tonight to look into the possible role of heat shock proteins in hair growth.

I figure there are 3 main evolutionary/logical reasons for hair (particularly on the top of the head).
1. Protect against sun exposure.
2. Protect against cold.
3. Sexual selection.

Here I am focused on #2

So I just looked up to see if there was any research for HSPs when it comes to hair growth.
I have only found about 3 related articles.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16635662
Expression of the heat shock protein-27 in the adult human scalp skin and hair follicle: hair cycle-dependent changes

CONCLUSIONS:Our investigation reports, for the first time, the expression patterns of HSP27 in human scalp skin and HF. The differential expression of HSP27 during HF cycling suggests its possible roles in human HF biology.

https://www.researchgate.net/publicatio ... air_cycle-dependent_expression_of_heat_shock_proteins_in_hair_follicle_epithelium

Conclusions These observations suggest that the synthesis of HSPs by hair bulb keratinocytes is related to the anagen-catagen transformation of the follicle, possibly reflecting keratinocyte apoptosis and/or terminal differentiation in the regressing, cycling portion of the follicle. In addition, the rather proximal localization of HSP expression makes it unlikely that the HSPs examined interact with the more distally located intrafollicular γ/δ T-cell receptor-positive lymphocytes.

And then another study about HSP's being protective for the hair follicles in the ear canal to protect and help hearing.

Heat Shock Proteins seem to be a broad category for molecules that are produced during temperature, UV, or other stresses and assist in folding proteins. Can anyone perhaps shed some light on this specific topic with some thoughts (no pun intended)?

[BioWizard]

Tonight I decided to dedicate a few minutes tonight to look into the possible role of heat shock proteins in hair growth.

Interesting - what prompted that specific inquiry?

Heat Shock Proteins seem to be a broad category for molecules that are produced during temperature, UV, or other stresses and assist in folding proteins. Can anyone perhaps shed some light on this specific topic with some thoughts (no pun intended)?

As you surmised, heat shock proteins - while called such, do not only serve heat shock related functions. They are important for normal homeostatic functions even in non-stressful conditions (stress is relative anyway). Proteins are continuously being produced inside the cell. As they come off the ribosome, they need to fold properly to serve their function. Because the process is stochastic, not all proteins will fold properly. Some will misfold due to random chance. The longer the protein and more complex the tertiary structure, the higher the chance that it might misfold. The more hydrophobic regions within the protein, the higher the chance that it will misfold. As such, some proteins require more "quality control", even in normal conditions, than other proteins. Then, if you have thermal stress, conditions might shift, whereby proteins that already require folding QC will need more of it, and those that didn't require any will suddenly need it (or vice versa). Also, if the cell is under a high demand for protein production, then it might adaptively upregular HSP function simply to deal with the increased load - regardless of thermal conditions. Since the hair follicle is practically a protein producing machine, the correlation between hair production and HSP expression is far from interesting.

[BadgerJelly]

Dammit! I thought this was some fishing scam. I was going to write a witty comment :(

I think there is something abiut malnutrition that causes hair growth too (bodily hair.) Thinking back to the reported cases of "feral children" who grow a downy hair all over. This probably doesn't relate to the topic very well, but thought it may be of some interest.

[TheVat]

While in college, I spent a year subsisting on cheerios and Snickers candy bars. By six months, I had a soft coat of hair over my entire body and snarled at people who came near. During the full moon, I would hunt squirrels. Hope this helps.

[zetreque]

Tonight I decided to dedicate a few minutes tonight to look into the possible role of heat shock proteins in hair growth.

Interesting - what prompted that specific inquiry?

Number 2 on my list of reasons for hair. It's possible that the head which contains a vital organ must be protected from cold and cold can induce hair growth. I have also read things on and off over the years about heat shock proteins and longevity.

There is also the practice of applying cold to the heat before chemotherapy but that appears to be based off an entirely different concept. Slowing the hair cell cycle.

Thank you for the information. Reminded me about other factors such as stoichiometry