Content area
Full Text
112
Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine, Vol. 157, No. 1, May, 2014 MORPHOLOGY AND PATHOMORPHOLOGY
Evaluation of ATP Content in Hair Bulbs in Human Scalp
E. V. Mikhalchik, M. V. Suprun, M. V. Fedorkova, G. A. Ibragimova, E. I. Dmitrieva, V. A. Lipatova*, and S. I. Kutsev*
Translated from Byulleten Eksperimentalnoi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 157, No. 1, pp. 125-128, January, 2014 Original article submitted May 30, 2013
The content of ATP in scalp hair bulbs in humans was measured in the hair roots from 15 healthy volunteers. Light and electron microscopy conrmed the presence of outer and an inner root sheaths in the root of pulled out anagen hair. Incubation of samples in buffer solution led to extraction of ATP, which was measured by the chemiluminescent method. Mechanic disintegration of hair bulbs and their freezingdefrosting did not increase ATP output. The results of microscopy indicated that ATP extraction procedure was associated with separation of the outer radical sheath from the inner one without impairing the structure of the inner sheath. The mean content of ATP was 122 pmol per bulb. The use of pulled out hair bulbs for ATP measurements simplied the procedure as involved no surgical removal of follicles.
Key Words: adenosine triphosphate; pulled out hair bulbs
The role of ATP in the hair follicle (HF) development cycle remains an object of active research. Being an important source of energy [1], including energy for keratin protein synthesis, ATP forms during glucose oxidation via the pentose phosphate pathway, glycolysis, and, less so, by oxidation to CO2 [10]. Intracellular
ATP participates in the work of signal pathways [8] and transmembrane channels [9], while ATP released outside the cell is involved in cellcell communications through purinergic receptors [5].
The ATP requirement of HF is liable to change from stage to stage, increasing during active cell division (anagen) [1,2]. On the other hand, dihydrotestosterone arrests ATP transformation into cyclic AMP (cAMP) by inhibiting adenylate cyclase, and the decrease of cAMP content in this case is paralleled by increase of ATP content under conditions of hair loss [3].
Measurements of ATP in hair bulb will help to detect the biochemical mechanisms involved in the development of alopecia and will promote correction
of drug therapy aimed at...