The secret about why hair goes gray may lie in a certain type of stem cell that gets "stuck" in our hair follicles, according to a new study.
"It is the loss of chameleon-like function in melanocyte stem cells that may be responsible for graying and loss of hair color," said senior author Mayumi Ito, PhD, professor in the Ronald O. Perelman Department of Dermatology and Department of Cell Biology at NYU Langone Health in New York, New York, in a press release.
He was the leader of the research team.
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"These findings suggest that melanocyte stem cell motility and reversible differentiation are key to keeping hair healthy and colored," he also said.
The results were published in the journal Nature this week.
"The loss of chameleon-like function in melanocyte stem cells … may be responsible for graying and loss of hair color," said the senior author of a new study. (iStock)
Here's a deeper dive and more revelations.
What are stem cells?
Stem cells are known for their ability to renew themselves, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Cells in our muscles, blood or nerves don’t replicate, but stem cells may replicate frequently, per the NIH.
The melanocyte stem cells in our hair follicles are a specific stem cell that produce and maintain the pigment in our hair.
One type of stem cell that researchers target are embryonic stem cells; that's because of their potential to develop into many different types of cells of the human body.
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The other type of stem cell is known as adult stem cells, which are a type of organ or tissue cell that has the potential to differentiate into a more specialized cell type.
Melanocyte stem cells: What to know
The melanocyte stem cells in our hair follicles are a specific stem cell that produce and maintain the pigment in our hair.
As hair ages, sheds and regrows, these stem cells are continually multiplying within hair follicles, according to the new study's press release.
"The study is built upon previous studies showing that maintaining healthy melanocyte stem cells is the key to preserving hair color," the senior author of the new study (not pictured) told Fox News Digital. (iStock)
They are stimulated to develop into mature cells that produce protein pigments that give hair its color, the release added.
Previous research suggested that graying of the hair occurs when particular melanocyte stem cells stop working.
"The study is built upon previous studies showing that maintaining healthy melanocyte stem cells is the key to preserving hair color," Ito told Fox News Digital.
Why researchers physically aged mice
The team of researchers from NYU Grossman School of Medicine focused on cells in the skin of mice.
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The researchers physically aged the mice’s hair by plucking their hairs — thereby forcing regrowth.
The melanocyte skin cells that were not "stuck" but still could travel in the hair follicle kept their ability to produce pigment.
Using 3D intravital imaging, the study traced the fate of the same melanocyte stem cell during hair follicle regeneration, Ito told Fox News Digital.
They found the number of hair follicles with melanocyte skin cells in a certain part of the hair follicle, known as the hair follicle bulge, increased from 15% before plucking to approximately 50% after forced aging.
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These cells could not regenerate or mature into melanocytes that produce pigments.
The melanocyte skin cells that were not "stuck" but still could travel in the hair follicle kept their ability to produce pigment over the two years the study was performed, the study explained.
The researchers concluded that melanocyte stem cells are much more mobile than previously thought, Ito told Fox News Digital.
"Our study suggests that melanocyte stem cells are mobile but can start regeneration of hair melanocytes only when they are present in a specific area within the hair follicle (hair germ compartment)," Ito added in an email.
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"We revealed that as melanocyte stem cells move within the hair follicle, stem cells can reversibly alter cell state from immature to mature state and this reversibility is critical for the proper maintenance of these stem cells."
How can people prevent gray hair?
The research suggests that moving melanocytes to a proper location within the hair follicle may help prevent hair from going gray.
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More research is needed because researchers still don’t know how melanocytes find a proper location within the hair follicle.
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"We hope to further understand molecular mechanisms of how melanocyte stem cell localization is regulated."
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