Dickkopf-related Protein 2 Promotes Hair Growth by Upregulating the Wnt/β-catenin Signaling Pathway in Human Dermal...

The Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway is crucial for the development, initiation, and growth of hair follicles (HFs). The Dickkopf-related protein (DKK) gene family encodes secreted proteins modulating the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Studies have reported that DKK1 promotes the regression of HFs and serves as a pathogenic mediator in male pattern baldness. However, the role of DKK2 on human hair growth has not yet been explored.

This study investigates direct effect of DKK2 on hair growth using human dermal papilla cell (DPC) cultures and ex vivo human HF organ cultures.

To elucidate the effect of DKK2 on hair growth, we examined the effect of recombinant human DKK2 (rhDKK2) treatment on cell viability, expression of mRNA and protein related to the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, and cell growth in cultured human DPCs. We also performed ex vivo organ culture of HFs with rhDKK2 and measured changes in hair shaft length for 8 days.

Treatment with rhDKK2 led to a dose-dependent rise in the proliferation of human DPCs (p<0.05), reaching levels comparable to those induced by 1 μM minoxidil. Moreover, rhDKK2 increased the expression of Wnt/β-catenin target genes, phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase, and cyclin-D1; it also increased the BAX-to-Bcl-2 ratio and downregulated the bone morphogenetic protein 2 gene. In human HF organ cultures, relative to the control treatment, rhDKK2 treatment significantly increased hair shaft elongation (p<0.01).

Our results indicate that rhDKK2 could promote hair growth by facilitating the proliferation of human DPCs through activation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.