Role of Wnt/β-catenin Signaling Pathway in Seborrheic Alopecia and Its Intervention with Traditional Chinese Medicine： A Review / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ABSTRACT

Seborrheic alopecia is a chronic dermatological disease caused by multiple factors. It occurs frequently in young and middle-aged men aged 20-30 years. The main clinical manifestations are greasy hair， itching， excessive dandruff， receding hairline， sparse hair on the top of the head， and progressive hair loss in the frontotemporal area. Seborrheic alopecia is not fatal， but it affects the appearance of patients， seriously harming their self-esteem and bringing great psychological distress to them. The Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway widely exists in multicellular eukaryotes and is a basic growth regulatory pathway which regulates cell proliferation and differentiation， maintains stem cells activity and organ homeostasis， and affects cell migration. At present， it has been reported in China and abroad that Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway is closely related to the occurrence and development of seborrheic alopecia and the action mechanism of drugs. Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） has multi-component， multi-target， and multi-pathway advantages， and it can promote the formation of hair follicle laminae， the proliferation and differentiation of hair follicle stem cells， and the periodic changes in hair follicles by regulating the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway， thereby alleviating seborrheic alopecia. This article reviewed the relationship of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway and its key target protein factors with seborrheic alopecia to clarify the important role of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway in seborrheic alopecia. At the same time， the TCM that targeted the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway to relieve seborrheic alopecia were summarized， so as to provide reference for the treatment of seborrheic alopecia and further development of new drugs.