K17 Protein For Healthy Hair

Recent reserach undertaken by John Hopkins researchers has shown that a particular protein called K17 that was only previously considered to be useful in cell and tissue structures now may be important for sustaining the structural patterns hair follicles on the head.

Originally the research focused on wound healing study and particularily the problem of bedsores in hospital and nursing homes,  however a concurrent study by the same group of researchers noted thatr the K17 protein was essential for boosting hair follicle growth. While this protein is needed for hair follicle strength it does not mean that this research will lead to a cure for alopecia or male pattern balding.

The K17 protein is apart of a group of proteins called keratin intermediate filaments that are a section of the cytoskeleton which in itself is a network of protein fibres designed to keep cell strength and structure. The researchers used mice that were deliberately made deficient in this essential protein and they saw that the K17 was essential for the cells so that they could produce more new proteins and cell growth after skin was damaged.

The role that K17 plays in hair follicle health is that it controls the follicle cell death over hair growth cycles and in the mice it was noted that the mice without the K17 protein didn't grow a good amount of body hair after being born. Without the K17 protein hair cells in the follicle die too quickly and thus the hair is too thin and weak.

All normal hair follicle cells work in a cycle that goes through 3 phases, namely growth, death and rest. When the K17 protein is not present this process happens too fast and thus hair growth is affected.