Hairless Frogs Shed Lights About Origins of Hair [Study]

Hairless Frogs Shed Lights About Origins of Hair [Study]
(Photo : Wikimedia Commons/Richard Bartz, Munich aka Makro Freak Image:MFB.jpg)

Frogs are hairless, but they offer an explanation as to where our hair comes from. Researchers learned that one species has an anatomy similar to the keratin component of human hair- -- nails.

Frogs Shed New Lights About Hair Evolution

In an attempt to shed light on the mystery origins of mammalian fuzz, Marjolein Carron, a genetic biologist at Ghent University, and her colleagues examined closely the tropical clawed frog (Xenopus tropicalis), our most distantly related nail-bearer.

The study titled "Evolutionary origin of Hoxc13-dependent skin appendages in amphibians," discovered that frogs share some genes involved in the creation of comparable keratin-like polymers, despite earlier research suggesting that the claws of frogs and mammals evolved differently.

Dermatologist Leopold Eckhart of the Medical University of Vienna stated that people with mutations in the Hoxc13 gene were known to have abnormalities in the growth of their hair and nails. By turning off this gene in the study, they were able to prevent the clawed frog from growing claws.

This implies that the "seeds" of hair were first planted during the time of the common ancestor of mammals and frogs. This species would have been a stem tetrapod, one of the first four-limbed creatures to scurry across the landscape around 375 million years ago.

The hair-regulating gene Hoxc13 was present in many modern jawed vertebrates and persisted in their last common ancestor. The gene's vital role is indicated by how well-preserved it is.

Previous studies have identified the gene that tells modern lobe-finned fish, or "living fossils" that reflect our pre-land ancestors, where on their bodies to create paired fins. These fins evolved into tetrapod legs at a later stage of the evolutionary process.

Hardened skin may have developed to prevent the tips of hardworking land-legs from wearing away, according to the researchers. Afterward, these safety gear became essential for digging, hunting, traveling, and self-defense.

"The original function of the primordial' hair keratins' as 'toe keratins' is conserved in toe pads of tree frogs, toe tips of the axolotl [and] claws of clawed frogs," the researchers wrote.

These molecules' expression subsequently expanded to additional bodily regions and resembled keratin. Eckhart claims that during mammalian evolution, the program of claw production was changed to accommodate the development of hair.

To what extent Hoxc13 regulates feather keratins is another matter. We are unsure of how that transition occurred from toes to hair follicles.

In order to make up for abrasion and damage from direct contact with the environment, skin appendages such as claws, nails, and hair regenerate throughout life. According to the researchers, tissue regeneration has evolved in the adult organism as a result of the cooptation of a development regulator.

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Hair Transplantation for Male-Pattern Baldness

Dr. Rodriguez Feliz advised males who intend to visit there for a hair transplant to think about the possible long-term effects of the surgery. To put it another way, it's not a permanent cure for hair loss.

In order to assist patients in making educated decisions and avoiding hazardous or inadequate outcomes, Feliz offered some insights regarding hair transplantation.

The most important thing to remember about male-pattern baldness is that it is a chronic condition. Like diabetes, it is manageable but ultimately incurable. While treating the issue, future planning is just as important as addressing the current level of hair loss. Treating hair loss as a one-time event is impractical.

Planning is necessary for hair transplantation to have long-lasting results. Long-term hair preservation requires careful planning. Dramatic before-and-after results need short-term graft survival and density.