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Low-level laser treatment stimulates hair growth via upregulating Wnt10b and β-catenin expression in C3H/HeJ mice

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Abstract

This study was conducted in order to evaluate the role of low-level laser treatment (LLLT) in hair growth in C3H/HeJ mice. Healthy C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into two groups: with and without low-level laser treatment. The skin color of each mouse was observed each day. Skin samples were collected for H&E, immunofluorescence, PCR, and western blot analysis, to observe the morphology of hair follicles and detect the expression levels of Wnt10b and β-catenin. Observation of skin color demonstrated that black pigmentation started significantly earlier in the laser group than in the control group. Hair follicle number in both groups showed no difference; however, the hair follicle length presented a significant difference. Wnt10b protein was detected on the second day in hair matrix cells in the LLLT group but not in the control group. PCR and western blot results both illustrated that expression of Wnt10b and β-catenin was significantly higher in the LLLT group than in the control group. Our study illustrated that low-level laser treatment can promote hair regrowth by inducing anagen phase of hair follicles via initiating the Wnt10b/β-catenin pathway.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Plastic Surgery Hospital, Peking Union Medical College (PUMC), CAMS, 33#, Badachu Road, Shijingshan District, Beijing, China

    Tiran Zhang, Liqiang Liu, Jincai Fan, Jia Tian, Cheng Gan, Zengjie Yang, Hu Jiao, Bing Han & Zheng Liu

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  1. Tiran Zhang
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  2. Liqiang Liu
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  3. Jincai Fan
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  4. Jia Tian
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  5. Cheng Gan
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  6. Zengjie Yang
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  7. Hu Jiao
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  8. Bing Han
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  9. Zheng Liu
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Correspondence to Liqiang Liu.

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All procedures performed in this study involving animals were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Animal Care and Use Committee of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.

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The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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Zhang, T., Liu, L., Fan, J. et al. Low-level laser treatment stimulates hair growth via upregulating Wnt10b and β-catenin expression in C3H/HeJ mice. Lasers Med Sci 32, 1189–1195 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10103-017-2224-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10103-017-2224-8

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