Table 1 Hair follicle signaling pathways associated with mitochondria

Wnt

Wnt/β-catenin

Endogenous, mitochondria-generated ROS

Up

Activating downstream β-catenin proteins

Increased differentiation of keratinizing cells within the hair follicle epithelium and the development of hair follicles

[76]

Notch

Mitochondrial ROS

Up

Promoting HIF-1α stabilization

Increased keratinocyte differentiation

[76, 77]

DRP1 downward adjustment

Down

Inactivating Notch

Inhibition of hair follicle cell differentiation

[3]

MAPK

MAPK-ERK-Mfn2

SIRT1

Up

Activating the MAPK-ERK-Mfn2 axis to regulate mitochondrial dynamic homeostasis

Enhanced HFSC survival in the inflammatory microenvironment

[78]

MAPK/CREB

CREB

Up

Upregulation of PGC-1α

Increased cellular energy metabolism and the secretion of growth factors promote the activation of hair growth

[75]

TGF-β

TGF-β/smad

TGF-β2

Down

Bax and cleaved caspase 3 upregulated, while Bcl-2 downregulated

Inhibition of hair cell growth, promotion of hair cell apoptosis and accumulation of inflammatory cells in hair follicles

[79]

PI3K

PI3K/AKT

CREB

Up

CREB binds to mitochondrial DNA, thereby promoting the expression of genes involved in cell survival (e.g., Bcl-2) and mitochondrial biogenesis (e.g., PGC-1α)

Increased secretion of growth factors in DPCs to promote hair follicle growth

[75]