URTICA DIOICA EXTRACT DOWNREGULATES THE GENE EXPRESSION OF 5Α-RII IN HACAT CELLS: POSSIBLE IMPLICATIONS AGAINST...

Area of Science:

• Dermatology
• Pharmacology
• Molecular Biology

Background:

• Urtica dioica (Ud) is traditionally used for dermatological issues and hair loss.
• Ud exhibits 5-alpha-reductase (5α-R) inhibitory activity, primarily studied in prostate tissues.
• Androgenic activity in skin cells contributes to conditions like acne and hair loss.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the in-vitro 5α-R inhibition activity of Urtica dioica extract in skin cells.
• To determine if Ud extract can modulate 5α-R type II gene expression in HaCaT cells.
• To explore the therapeutic potential of Ud for androgenic skin diseases.

Main Methods:

• Preparation of Urtica dioica leaf extract.
• Treatment of cultured HaCaT cells with non-cytotoxic concentrations of Ud extract.
• Gene expression analysis of 5α-R type II (5α-RII) using real-time RT-qPCR.

Main Results:

• Urtica dioica extract significantly downregulated 5α-RII gene expression in HaCaT cells (p=0.0021).
• The fold change in 5α-RII gene expression was 0.5873±0.0586 compared to the control group.
• This study is the first to demonstrate Ud extract's suppression of 5α-RII gene expression in skin cells.

Conclusions:

• Urtica dioica extract exhibits anti-androgenic activity in skin cells by downregulating 5α-RII.
• Ud extract shows promise for cosmetic dermatology and the development of treatments for androgenic skin diseases.
• Further research into Ud's application for conditions like acne and alopecia is warranted.