title: Melanocyte stem cell maintenance and hair graying.
abstract: Hair graying is an obvious sign of human aging, yet little was known about its causes. Two recent papers provide compelling evidence that hair graying is due to incomplete melanocyte stem cell maintenance and identify Pax3 and Mitf as key molecules that help regulate the balance between melanocyte stem cell maintenance and differentiation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Vatnsmyrarvegur 16, 101 Reykjavik, Iceland.
authors.forename: Eiríkur
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Steingrímsson
authors.forename: Neal G
authors.initials: NG
authors.lastname: Copeland
authors.forename: Nancy A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Jenkins
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D006200:Hair Color / Q000502:physiology*; D018859:Hair Follicle / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008544:Melanocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology; D051379:Mice; D051739:Microphthalmia-Associated Transcription Factor; D039902:Multipotent Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology; D000072041:PAX3 Transcription Factor; D051761:Paired Box Transcription Factors; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C497234:MITF protein, human; D051739:Microphthalmia-Associated Transcription Factor; C497235:Mitf protein, mouse; D000072041:PAX3 Transcription Factor; C489409:PAX3 protein, human; D051761:Paired Box Transcription Factors; D014157:Transcription Factors