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Int J Biol Sci 2024; 20(14):5764-5778. doi:10.7150/ijbs.101127 This issue Cite

Research Paper

AIMP1-Derived Peptide Secreted from Hair Follicle Stem Cells Promotes Hair Growth by Activating Dermal Papilla Cells

YounHa Kim^1,5,*, Sang Bum Kim^4,*, Ho Lee², Doyeun Kim¹, Soon Sun Bak³, Ina Yoon⁸, Seongmin Cho¹, Seung Jae Jeong¹, Yoon Jeon², Jina Kim⁵, Ji-hee Kim⁴, Soohwan Oh⁶, Khas-Erdene Battogtokh⁶, Min Chul Park⁷, Young Kwan Sung^3,✉, Sunghoon Kim^1,✉

1. Department of Integrative Biotechnology, Interdisciplinary Graduate Program, College of Pharmacy, Medicinal Bioconver-gence Research Center, Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Biomedical Research, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Yonsei University, 85 Songdogwahak-ro, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon 21983, South Korea.
2. Graduate School of Cancer Science and Policy, National Cancer Center, Gyeonggi 10408, South Korea.
3. Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41944, South Korea.
4. College of Pharmacy, Sahmyook University, Seoul, South Korea.
5. CureBio Therapeutics Co., Ltd, 12fl, 91, Changnyong-daero 256beon-gil, Yeongtong-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea.
6. College of Pharmacy, Korea University, 2511 Sejong-ro, Sejong 30019, South Korea.
7. College of Pharmacy and Inje institute of pharmaceutical sciences and research, Inje university, Gimhae, South Korea.
8. Yonsei Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Yonsei University, Incheon, 21983, South Korea.
^*Contributed equally.

✉ Corresponding authors: Prof. Sunghoon Kim, Department of Integrative Biotechnology, Interdisciplinary Graduate Program, College of Pharmacy, Medicinal Bioconvergence Research Center, Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Biomedical Research, Yonsei University, 85 Songdogwahak-ro, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon 21983, Korea; E-mail: sunghoonkimac.kr. Prof. Young Kwan Sung, Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, 680 Gukchaebosang-ro, Jung-gu, Daegu 41944, Korea; E-mail: ysungac.kr. More

Abstract

Hair follicle stem cells (HFSCs) and dermal papilla cells (DPCs) are crucial in the biogenesis and maintenance of hair follicles (HFs). This study demonstrated that a fragment derived from aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase-interacting multifunctional protein1 (AIMP1) secreted from HFSCs activated DPCs and maintained HF homeostasis. A histological analysis revealed that AIMP1 levels in HF decreased with hair loss. Hair regrowth in AIMP1-induced mice was faster than in non-induced mice. Deletion mapping revealed 41 amino acids (TN41, aa 6-46) as the active region of AIMP1. The N-terminal peptide fragment of AIMP1 generated by MMP1 was secreted from Wnt-treated HFSCs to activate DPCs. TN41 activated Akt and ERK, increased β-catenin, and enhanced DPC activation. TN41 promoted hair shaft elongation in cultured human HFs and improved the hair-inducing activity of cultured DPC spheroids. Our findings suggest that the AIMP1 fragment secreted from HFSCs stimulates active hair regrowth through activating DPCs.

Keywords: hair follicle stem cell, dermal papilla cell, AIMP1, hair growth

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