mRNA Levels of Aromatase, 5-Reductase Isozymes, and Prostate Cancer-Related Genes in Plucked Hair from Young Men with Androgenic Alopecia

Androgenic alopecia (AGA) is the most prevalent type of progressive hair loss and has psychological repercussions. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of current pharmacological treatments remains limited, in part because the molecular basis of the disease has not been fully elucidated. Our group previously highlighted the important roles of aromatase and 5 alpha-reductase (5 alpha-R) in alopecia in young women with female pattern hair loss. Additionally, an association has been proposed between AGA and prostate cancer (PCa), suggesting that genes implicated in PCa would also be involved in AGA. A low-invasive, sensitive, and precise method was used to determine mRNA levels of aromatase, 5 alpha-R isozymes, and 84 PCa-related genes in samples of plucked hair from young men with AGA and controls. Samples were obtained with a trichogram from the vertex scalp, and mRNA levels were quantified using real-time RT-PCR. The men with AGA had significantly higher 5 alpha-R2 mRNA levels in comparison to controls; interestingly, some of them also showed markedly elevated mRNA levels of 5 alpha-R1 or 5 alpha-R3 or of both, which may explain the varied response to 5 alpha-R inhibitor treatments. The men with AGA also showed significant changes versus controls in 6 out of the 84 genes implicated in PCa. This study contributes greater knowledge of the molecular bases of AGA, facilitating early selection of the most appropriate pharmacological therapy and opening the way to novel treatments.