Transcriptome analysis for human premature hair graying

Premature hair graying, or canities, is a complex multi-factorial process and has negative effects to affected individuals. However, little is known about the intricate mechanism underlying. Here we per-formed RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) to identify gene expression changes between the follicular cells of white hairs and those of black hairs from five person suffered premature hair graying. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) overrepresented in gene categories associated with pigmentation pathway, which included the predominantly decreased expression of key genes respon-sible for melanin synthesis. Intriguingly, the decreased expression of certain transcription factors (TFs) and increased expression of a few primary microRNAs (miRs) could explain the down-regulated gene expression at transcription and post-transcription levels, respectively. DEGs were also enriched in genes associated with nervous system, indicating that neural disturbance might also play some roles in premature hair graying. Noteworthy, five of down-regulated DEGs are associated with aging according to AgeFactorDB. The present study is the first genome-wide survey on gene expression changes in premature hair graying. It revealed that the seriously damaged melanin biosynthesis pathway is prob-ably the direct cause leading to hair graying, providing valuable clues for further functional and mech-anistic investigations.