Edit: It seems like this CXXC5 targeting study discussed in this post was first published in June 2017. Not sure why they now have a newer November 2017 publication date. Nor why the global media only covered it so intensively this past week.
A Reddit thread on this became very popular with over 2,500 comments.
Update: August 2020 — A new paper on KY19382 (a novel activator of Wnt/β-catenin signaling) was submitted in 2020 (approved in 2021). KY19382 works via the inhibition of the interaction between CXXC-type zinc finger protein 5 (CXXC5) and Dishevelled (Dvl). One of the authors is Dr. Kang-Yell Choi.
Update: February 2021: South Korean company CK Biotech is working on a CXXC5 product for hair loss via developing the PTD-DBM peptide. In February, 2021 they managed to raise $12 million in Series B funding. The company’s CEO is Dr. Kang-Yell Choi whose work I discuss later in this post. On their site, they discuss the CXXC5 and PTD-DBM per below:
Last week, several of my alerts led to South Korean websites that discussed new successful local research targeting the Wnt pathway to reverse hair loss. Since I very recently wrote a post concerning the Wnt pathway, I was planning to save this news for my next “brief items of interest” post. However, four different readers commented about this news in the past week. And there are now many online news articles being published on this subject daily. So I decided to write a second post related to Wnt in less than a month.
Targeting of CXXC5 by PTD-DBM Causes Hair Regrowth
The actual paper was published in the prestigious Journal of Investigative Dermatology. South Korean scientists found that CXXC-type zinc finger protein 5 (CXXC5) is a negative regulator of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. In fact, CXXC5 is upregulated in both thinning hair and arrector pili muscles in balding scalps. The lead author is Dr. Kang-Yell Choi.
The scientists managed to disrupt something termed as the “CXXC5-Dishevelled interaction” with a newly developed competitor peptide biomaterial called PTD-DBM. This resulted in activation of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway and accelerated hair regrowth and wound-induced hair follicle neogenesis in mice. Yet more evidence on the benefits of wounding?
Interestingly, at the start of the above paper, they also mention the famous hair loss researcher Dr. Luis Garza and his recent paper (co-authored with Dr. Dangwon Kim) titled “The Negative Regulator CXXC5: Making WNT Look a Little Less Dishevelled“. Perhaps Dr. Garza is also collaborating on this research?
Valproic Acid and Hair
Also of interest, the scientists added valproic acid into the mix and found that it sped up hair growth in the mice. There has been evidence on the benefits of valproic acid on scalp hair growth in the past. In fact a seminal work on the subject also came from South Korea in 2014, when scientists found that topical valproic acid increases hair counts in balding men. Apparently, valproic activates the activates the Wnt/β-catenin pathway (and inhibits glycogen synthase kinase 3β).
Dr. Kang-Yell Choi in South Korean Papers
Below are some of the online South Korean sites that covered this story. This research must be significant enough to be covered in so many local sources. Moreover, while the research team was led by Dr. Kang-Yell Choi of Yonsei University, some of the below sources suggest involvement of the South Korean Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning in this work.
Future PTD-DBM Drug Development
The UK’s Metro newspaper covered this story today. Key quote from Kang-Yell Choi, the main researcher involved:
“We have found a protein that controls the hair growth and developed a new substance that promotes hair regeneration by controlling the function of the protein. We expect that the newly developed substance will contribute to the development of a drug that not only treats hair loss but also regenerate damaged skin tissues”.
Mr. Kang-Yell Choi seems to have many patents related to the Wnt/β-catenin pathway to his name. He even has his own wikipedia entry.