Hi,
Below is an article I wrote on this very subject for another client.
MSP and its contribution to hair growth
Who? Where? When?
Specific proteins and their effect on hair growth was studied in the Department of Dermatology, at Philipp University in Marburg, Germany, in 2004. Scientists Kevin J. McElwee, Andrea Huth, Sabine Kissling, and Rolf Hoffmann reported their success in discovering how the protein MSP contributes to hair growth from their research in the laboratory and on mice.
On the shoulders of giants
The success of this study is due in part to previous successes.
1. From a previous study by Lindner in 2000, hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a promoter of hair follicle growth and development.
2. Another member of the HGF family is macrophage-stimulating protein (MSP).
3. Both HGF and MSP communicate with cells through cell receptors.
4. Several studies by scientists Ronsin and Wang have concluded that HGF uses a cell receptor called MET and MSP uses a cell receptor called RON.
5. Scientists Guadino, Quantin, and Thierry found that RON is used while people are still unborn to help develop bones, skin, lungs, and many other parts of our body.
6. The four scientists in this study found that MSP can be found in human hair.
Why this study was necessary
HGF is known to help hair grow.
MSP and HGF are related.
Therefore… can MSP help hair grow?
What did they study, specifically?
The effects of MSP on hair growth were evaluated with three studies.
Study 1
The first study they did was “ex vivo” which means they did not perform the study on a living subject but rather performed the study in a laboratory setting in a container. They used five hair samples. One was a control sample and the other 4 were injected with increasing amounts of MSP into the hair: .01 ng, 1 ng, 10 ng, 100 ng.
In test one, after 8 days, they observed an immediate increase in hair growth in the four hair samples that had been injected with MSP compared to the hair growth in the control sample. Interestingly, the test with 1 ng per mL of MSP grew the most!
Study 2
The second study they did was “in vivo” which means “in life.” This time, they used living organisms to help them understand MSP and its relation to hair growth. Special beads were soaked in MSP and injected under the skin of 70 day-old mice.
• In eight mice they injected beads filled with .01 ng.
• In eight mice they injected beads filled with 1 ng.
• In eight mice they injected beads filled with 10 ng.
• In eight mice they injected beads filled with 100 ng.
• As a control, they also put 8 beads of saline into 8 additional mice in order to ensure that it wasn't the implantation of the beads that potentially caused hair growth, or that any hair growth detected was naturally occurring.
After 16 days, they observed the potential hair growth and this is what they found:
• All 8 mice receiving 1 ng MSP had hair growth at the site of the bead implant.
• 4 of the 8 mice with the 100 ng MSP bead had hair growth at the site of the bead.
• All 8 mice in the control group with saline beads had no hair growth, confirming that the beads themselves did not contribute to hair growth and that the additional hair growth in the other mice was not naturally occurring.
Study 3
This test was a longer-term “in vivo” test. More bead-implanted mice, and a control group, were used to discover the effect of MSP on hair growth for an extended period of time. Although they discovered some hair growth in this test, they found something more significant: The state of the follicles were in an “anagen” state, which means a period of growth, compared to the control mice whose follicles were in a “telogen” state, which means a period of rest.
What conclusions did they draw?
1. MSP, like HGF can grow hair. Human MSP can successfully stimulate mouse hair growth.
2. MSP seems to be an important factor in hair growth. In test two,