Liposomal honokiol promotes hair growth via activating Wnt3a/beta-catenin signaling pathway and down regulating TGF-beta 1 in C57BL/6N mice

Liposomal honokiol isolated from the genus Magnolia has been found to have antiangiogenic, anti-inflammatory and antitumor properties. However, there has no report on its role in hair growth. Hair follicles are life-long cycled organelles that go through from anagen, catagen and telogen stages and are regulated by diverse signaling pathways, including Wnt/beta-catenin, Notch, Epidermal growth factor (EGF) and Sonic hegehog (SHH). Wnt signals are essential for the initiation of hair follicle placode development and a new potential target of hair loss treatment. This study was designed to investigate the effect of liposomal honokiol (Lip-honokiol) on inducing hair anagen. We identified the hair grew out in advance in the shaving area of C57BL/6N mice after the treatment of liposomal honokiol (Lip-honokiol) by daily abdominal injection. We first demonstrated that Lip-Honokiol activated the Wnt3a/beta-catenin pathway and downregulated the transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-beta 1) to promote hair growth in mice via immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence staining. These findings suggest that Lip-honokiol activated the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway and accelerated the transfer from the telogen to anagen stage and finally promoted the hair growth.