Ginsenoside Re prevents 3-methyladenine-induced catagen phase acceleration by regulating Wnt/ - catenin signaling in human dermal papilla cells

Background: The human hair follicle undergoes cyclic phasesdanagen, catagen, and telogendthroughoutits lifetime. This cyclic transition has been studied as a target for treating hair loss. Recently,correlation between the inhibition of autophagy and acceleration of the catagen phase in human hairfollicles was investigated. However, the role of autophagy in human dermal papilla cells (hDPCs), whichis involved in the development and growth of hair follicles, is not known. We hypothesized that accelerationof hair catagen phase upon inhibition of autophagy is due to the downregulation of Wnt/bcateninsignaling in hDPCs, and that components of Panax ginseng extract can increase the autophagicflux in hDPCs. Methods: We generated an autophagy-inhibited condition using 3-methyladenine (3-MA), a specificautophagy inhibitor, and investigated the regulation of Wnt/b-catenin signaling using the luciferasereporter assay, qRT-PCR, and western blot analysis. In addition, cells were cotreated with ginsenoside Reand 3-MA and their roles in inhibiting autophagosome formation were investigated. Results: We found that the unstimulated anagen phase dermal papilla region expressed the autophagymarker, LC3. Transcription of Wnt-related genes and nuclear translocation of b-catenin were reducedafter treatment of hDPCs with 3-MA. In addition, treatment with the combination of ginsenoside Re and3-MA changed the Wnt activity and hair cycle by restoring autophagy. Conclusions: Our results suggest that autophagy inhibition in hDPCs accelerates the catagen phase bydownregulating Wnt/b-catenin signaling. Furthermore, ginsenoside Re, which increased autophagy inhDPCs, could be useful for reducing hair loss caused by abnormal inhibition of autophagy. KCI Citation Count: 0