{"id":162718,"date":"2018-05-05T05:20:51","date_gmt":"2018-05-05T09:20:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=162718"},"modified":"2018-05-05T05:20:51","modified_gmt":"2018-05-05T09:20:51","slug":"study-links-gray-hair-with-immune-system-activity-viral-infection-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2018\/05\/05\/study-links-gray-hair-with-immune-system-activity-viral-infection-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Study links gray hair with immune system activity, viral infection"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A new study on mice, published on Thursday in the open access journal PLOS Biology, offered insights into why some people’s hair may turn gray in response to a serious illness or chronic stress. (Pixabay photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

WASHINGTON\u00a0— A new study on mice, published on Thursday in the open access journal PLOS Biology, offered insights into why some people’s hair may turn gray in response to a serious illness or chronic stress.<\/p>\n

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health and the University of Alabama, Birmingham (UAB) have discovered a connection between the genes that contribute to hair color and the genes that notify our bodies of a pathogenic infection.<\/p>\n

According to the researchers, when a body is under attack from a virus or bacteria, the innate immune system detects them and responds by producing signaling molecules called interferons.<\/p>\n

Interferons signal other cells to take action by turning on the expression of genes that inhibit viral replication, activate immune effector cells, and increase host defenses.<\/p>\n

Melissa Harris, lead author and assistant professor\u00a0at UAB’s Department of Biology, found a connection between hair pigmentation and innate immune regulation.<\/p>\n

In this study, an unexpected link was found\u00a0among gray hair, the transcription factor MITF or Melanogenesis Associated Transcription Factor, and innate immunity.<\/p>\n

MITF is best known for its role in regulating the many functions within melanocytes. However, the researchers found that MITF also serves to keep the melanocytes’ interferon response in check.<\/p>\n

Harris said melanocyte stem cells were essential to hair color as they produced the melanocytes that were responsible for making and depositing pigment into the hair shaft.<\/p>\n

They found that if MITF’s control of the interferon response was lost in melanocyte stem cells, hair-graying resulted.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, if innate immune signaling is artificially activated in mice that are predisposed\u00a0to getting gray hair, increased numbers of gray hairs are also produced.<\/p>\n

“This new discovery suggests that genes that control pigment in hair and skin also work to control the innate immune system,” said William Pavan, study co-author and chief of the Genetic Disease Research Branch at National Human Genome Research Institute under National Institute of Health.<\/p>\n

“These results may enhance our understanding of hair graying. More importantly, discovering this connection will help us understand pigmentation diseases with innate immune system involvement like vitiligo,” said Paven.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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