Bee Venom Promotes Hair Growth in Association with Inhibiting 5α-Reductase Expression.

Alopecia is an important issue that can occur in people of all ages. Recent studies show that bee venom can be used to treat certain diseases including rheumatoid arthritis, neuralgia, and multiple sclerosis. In this study, we investigated the preventive effect of bee venom on alopecia, which was measured by applying bee venom (0.001, 0.005, 0.01%) or minoxidil (2%) as a positive control to the dorsal skin of female C57BL/6 mice for 19 d. Growth factors responsible for hair growth were analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR and Western blot analysis using mice skins and human dermal papilla cells (hDPCs). Bee venom promoted hair growth and inhibited transition from the anagen to catagen phase. In both anagen phase mice and dexamethasone-induced catagen phase mice, hair growth was increased dose dependently compared with controls. Bee venom inhibited the expression of SRD5A2, which encodes a type II 5α-reductase that plays a major role in the conversion of testosterone into dihydrotestosterone. Moreover, bee venom stimulated proliferation of hDPCs and several growth factors (insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF-1R), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), fibroblast growth factor (FGF)2 and 7) in bee venom-treated hDPCs dose dependently compared with the control group. In conclusion, bee venom is a potentially potent 5α-reductase inhibitor and hair growth promoter.

[1]  H. Bae,et al.  Therapeutic Effects of Bee Venom on Immunological and Neurological Diseases , 2015, Toxins.

[2]  E. Giralt,et al.  Three Valuable Peptides from Bee and Wasp Venoms for Therapeutic and Biotechnological Use: Melittin, Apamin and Mastoparan , 2015, Toxins.

[3]  Tae Myoung Kim,et al.  Bee venom inhibits growth of human cervical tumors in mice , 2015, Oncotarget.

[4]  A. Dmytriw,et al.  Prevention of Alopecia in Medical and Interventional Chemotherapy Patients , 2015, Journal of cutaneous medicine and surgery.

[5]  A. Tosti,et al.  5&agr;-Reductase inhibitors in androgenetic alopecia , 2014, Current opinion in endocrinology, diabetes, and obesity.

[6]  Myeong Soo Lee,et al.  Bee venom acupuncture for rheumatoid arthritis: a systematic review of randomised clinical trials , 2014, BMJ Open.

[7]  Sun Mi Gu,et al.  Cancer Cell Growth Inhibitory Effect of Bee Venom via Increase of Death Receptor 3 Expression and Inactivation of NF-kappa B in NSCLC Cells , 2014, Toxins.

[8]  B. Sripanidkulchai,et al.  Hair Growth‐Promoting Effect of Carthamus tinctorius Floret Extract , 2014, Phytotherapy research : PTR.

[9]  C. Sung,et al.  Chrysanthemum zawadskii extract induces hair growth by stimulating the proliferation and differentiation of hair matrix. , 2014, International journal of molecular medicine.

[10]  W. De-Eknamkul,et al.  Potential targets in the discovery of new hair growth promoters for androgenic alopecia , 2014, Expert opinion on therapeutic targets.

[11]  Young-Chae Chang,et al.  Melittin suppresses EGF-induced cell motility and invasion by inhibiting PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway in breast cancer cells. , 2014, Food and chemical toxicology : an international journal published for the British Industrial Biological Research Association.

[12]  Jai-Shin Liu,et al.  Minoxidil may suppress androgen receptor-related functions , 2014, Oncotarget.

[13]  M. Kanlayavattanakul,et al.  Hair loss and herbs for treatment , 2013, Journal of cosmetic dermatology.

[14]  A. Qureshi,et al.  Autoimmune, atopic, and mental health comorbid conditions associated with alopecia areata in the United States. , 2013, JAMA dermatology.

[15]  E. Hirsch,et al.  Bee Venom and Its Component Apamin as Neuroprotective Agents in a Parkinson Disease Mouse Model , 2013, PloS one.

[16]  B. Min,et al.  Bee venom ameliorates ovalbumin induced allergic asthma via modulating CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells in mice. , 2013, Cytokine.

[17]  K. Ingkaninan,et al.  Curcuma aeruginosa, a novel botanically derived 5α-reductase inhibitor in the treatment of male-pattern baldness: a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study , 2012, The Journal of dermatological treatment.

[18]  Chun-ming Li,et al.  VEGF induces proliferation of human hair follicle dermal papilla cells through VEGFR-2-mediated activation of ERK. , 2012, Experimental cell research.

[19]  S. Calvieri,et al.  Minoxidil use in dermatology, side effects and recent patents. , 2012, Recent patents on inflammation & allergy drug discovery.

[20]  M. Suttajit,et al.  5α-reductase inhibition and hair growth promotion of some Thai plants traditionally used for hair treatment. , 2012, Journal of ethnopharmacology.

[21]  A. Traish,et al.  Adverse side effects of 5α-reductase inhibitors therapy: persistent diminished libido and erectile dysfunction and depression in a subset of patients. , 2011, The journal of sexual medicine.

[22]  S. Kang,et al.  Hair growth promoting effect of Zizyphus jujuba essential oil. , 2010, Food and chemical toxicology : an international journal published for the British Industrial Biological Research Association.

[23]  Yonghui Li,et al.  5α‐Reductase and Aromatase Inhibitory Constituents from Brassica rapa L. Pollen. , 2009 .

[24]  Yonghui Li,et al.  5 alpha-reductase and aromatase inhibitory constituents from Brassica rapa L. pollen. , 2009, Chemical & pharmaceutical bulletin.

[25]  S. Attia,et al.  Proliferation, DNA repair and apoptosis in androgenetic alopecia , 2009, Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology : JEADV.

[26]  H. Kurihara,et al.  Administration of capsaicin and isoflavone promotes hair growth by increasing insulin-like growth factor-I production in mice and in humans with alopecia. , 2007, Growth hormone & IGF research : official journal of the Growth Hormone Research Society and the International IGF Research Society.

[27]  Jae Woong Lee,et al.  Therapeutic application of anti-arthritis, pain-releasing, and anti-cancer effects of bee venom and its constituent compounds. , 2007, Pharmacology & therapeutics.

[28]  Christina Wang,et al.  The Effect of 5α-Reductase Inhibition with Dutasteride and Finasteride on Semen Parameters and Serum Hormones in Healthy Men , 2007 .

[29]  T. Schlake,et al.  Igf-I signalling controls the hair growth cycle and the differentiation of hair shafts. , 2005, The Journal of investigative dermatology.

[30]  R. Haber,et al.  Psychological effect, pathophysiology, and management of androgenetic alopecia in men. , 2005, Mayo Clinic proceedings.

[31]  T. John.  Biology of Hair. The Biogenesis and Growth of Human Hair , 2005 .

[32]  C. D. Kim,et al.  The hair growth promoting effect of Asiasari radix extract and its molecular regulation. , 2005, Journal of dermatological science.

[33]  J. Rundegren,et al.  Minoxidil: mechanisms of action on hair growth , 2004, The British journal of dermatology.

[34]  S. Roh,et al.  The hair growth promoting effect of Sophora flavescens extract and its molecular regulation. , 2002, Journal of dermatological science.

[35]  M. Kubo,et al.  Anti-androgenic and hair growth promoting activities of Lygodii spora (spore of Lygodium japonicum) I. Active constituents inhibiting testosterone 5alpha-reductase. , 2002, Biological & pharmaceutical bulletin.

[36]  M. Cho,et al.  Inhibitors of 5alpha -reductase type I in LNCaP cells from the roots of Angelica koreana. , 2002, Planta medica.

[37]  Thomas D. Schmittgen,et al.  Analysis of relative gene expression data using real-time quantitative PCR and the 2(-Delta Delta C(T)) Method. , 2001, Methods.

[38]  S. Millar,et al.  Towards a molecular understanding of hair loss and its treatment. , 2001, Trends in molecular medicine.

[39]  V. Meidan,et al.  Treatments for androgenetic alopecia and alopecia areata: current options and future prospects. , 2001, Drugs.

[40]  S. Eichmüller,et al.  A murine model for inducing and manipulating hair follicle regression (catagen): effects of dexamethasone and cyclosporin A. , 1994, The Journal of investigative dermatology.

[41]  S. Eichmüller,et al.  Chemotherapy-induced alopecia in mice. Induction by cyclophosphamide, inhibition by cyclosporine A, and modulation by dexamethasone. , 1994, The American journal of pathology.

[42]  V. Randall.  Androgens and human hair growth , 1994, Clinical endocrinology.