Why our hair turns grey

For the first time, a new study has provided clue on why our hair turns grey.

Researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center have shown that Wnt signaling, already known to control many biological processes, between hair follicles and melanocyte stem cells can dictate hair pigmentation.

"We have known for decades that hair follicle stem cells and pigment-producing melanocycte cells collaborate to produce colored hair, but the underlying reasons were unknown," said Mayumi Ito, assistant professor in the Ronald O Pereleman Department of Dermatology at NYU Langone, who led the study.

"We discovered Wnt signaling is essential for coordinated actions of these two stem cell lineages and critical for hair pigmentation," added Ito.

The lack of Wnt activation in melanocyte stem cells leads to depigmented or grey hair.

The study has been published in the issue of the journal Cell.