Androgenetic alopecia: new insights into the pathogenesis and mechanism of hair loss [version 1; referees: 4 approved]

The hair follicle is a complete mini-organ that lends itself as a model for investigation of a variety of complex biological phenomena, including stem cell biology, organ regeneration and cloning. The arrector pili muscle inserts into the hair follicle at the level of the bulgethe epithelial stem cell niche. The arrector pili muscle has been previously thought to be merely a bystander and not to have an active role in hair disease. Computer generated 3D reconstructions of the arrector pili muscle have helped explain why women with androgenetic alopecia (AGA) experience diffuse hair loss rather than the patterned baldness seen in men. Loss of attachment between the bulge stem cell population and the arrector pili muscle also explains why miniaturization is irreversible in AGA but not alopecia areata. A new model for the progression of AGA is presented. Rodney Sinclair ( ) Corresponding author: [email protected] Sinclair R, Torkamani N and Jones L. How to cite this article: Androgenetic alopecia: new insights into the pathogenesis and mechanism 2015, (F1000 Faculty Rev):585 (doi: ) of hair loss [version 1; referees: 4 approved] F1000Research 4 10.12688/f1000research.6401.1 © 2015 Sinclair R . This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the , which Copyright: et al Creative Commons Attribution Licence permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The author(s) declared that no grants were involved in supporting this work. Grant information: Competing interests: The authors declared that they have no competing interests. 19 Aug 2015, (F1000 Faculty Rev):585 (doi: ) First published: 4 10.12688/f1000research.6401.1 1-3 1-3