The effect of platelet-derived growth factor-aa (PDGFA) conjugated with low-molecular-weight protamine (LMWP) on hair...

Platelet-derived growth factor-AA (PDGFA) is known to play an important role in hair loss and hair growth by involving in the anagen phase of the hair follicle growth cycle. In this study, we synthesized skin-permeable recombinant low-molecular-weight protamine (LMWP)-conjugated PDGFA (LMWP-PDGFA) by linking LMWP to the N terminus of PDGFA. We evaluated the hair loss improvement effect, wound healing efficacy, and skin permeability of LMWP-PDGFA. LMWP-PDGFA showed higher cell proliferation, cell permeability, 5α-reductase inhibition activity and IGF-1 activity than PDGFA in human hair follicle dermal papilla cells (HFDPC). We also found that LMWP-PDGFA increased cell migration and collagen synthesis better than PDGFA. These results indicate that LMWP-PDGFA can be a good candidate as a hair treatment agent with superior cell permeability than PDGFA. Additionally, it is expected that the efficacy of the protein can be maximized by combining LMWP with other functional proteins.