Hair regenerative effect of silk fibroin hydrogel with incorporation of FGF-2-liposome and its potential mechanism in mice with testosterone-induced alopecia areata

Abstract

Basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF-2) was effective to promote growth of hair. However, Because of its poor stability and low permeability against skin, the therapeutic effect of FGF-2 was hindered largely in clinical practice. To overcome these drawbacks, herein, FGF-2 was firstly encapsulated into liposome (FGF-2-LIP) followed by incorporating into silk fibroin (SF) to produce a novel FGF-2-LIP-SF hydrogel. The encapsulating efficiency of FGF-2 was more than 90% when ratio of drug/lipids above 1:300, and FGF-2-LIP exhibited a size ranged from 85 nm to 120 nm and Zeta potential of ca. −9.31 mV. Rheological study showed that FGF-2-LIP-SF solution was rapidly transited to hydrogel with storage modulus of 4200Pa and loss modulus of 1000Pa. After smearing FGF-2-LIP-SF on skin, the encapsulated FGF-2 was able to penetrate into the dermis. After treatment with FGF-2-LIP-SF hydrogel, the hair of testosterone (TES)-treated mice was rapidly regrown and hair follicles were also recovered to anagen phase. Moreover, the expression of inflammation-associated cytokines such as TNF-α and IL-6 was largely inhibited after treatment with FGF-2-LIP-SF hydrogel. Meanwhile, the expression of CD133, an epidermal stem cells marker, in hair follicles was promoted by FGF-2-LIP-SF hydrogel. Conclusively, FGF-2-LIP-SF may a potential option to prevent hair loss of patients with alopecia areata.