Human hair, a kind of natural fiber mainly composed of keratin and keratin-associated proteins, is a good biological sample that can be used to characterize the status of the body in a certain period of time. It is of highly importance in the detection of drugs, alcohol and stimulants because of the advantages of low cost, easy collection, easy transportation and storage. Proteomics is an emerging technology widely used in the field of life sciences to study protein expression and regulation at the holistic level. Investigating the composition and dynamic changes of hair proteins in different populations would have great potential in finding disease markers and distinguishing personal traits. In this paper, the structure and composition of hair, the changes of hair composition under psychological stress, and the research progress of hair proteomics were comprehensively reviewed. This will help using hair proteomics to identify body characteristics.
Humans ; Human Characteristics ; Proteomics ; Hair/chemistry* ; Keratins/chemistry* ; Metabolomics

OBJECTIVES: To establish a combined high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method to detect the synthetic cannabinoid CUMYL-PEGACLONE in e-cigarette oil and hair. METHODS: HPLC-MS/MS and GC-MS were used to establish the detection method of CUMYL-PEGACLONE, and the hair of drug-involved persons and the seized e-cigarette oil were detected. RESULTS: The main mass spectrometry characteristic ions m/z of CUMYL-PEGACLONE measured by GC-MS were 91, 179, 197, 254 and 372. CUMYL-PEGACLONE had a good linear relationship in the mass concentration range of 2-50 ng/mL, and the linear correlation coefficient (r) was greater than 0.99. The limit of detection (LOD) of CUMYL-PEGACLONE in hair was 0.01 ng/mg, and the limit of quantitation (LOQ) was 0.02 ng/mg. The LOD of CUMYL-PEGACLONE in e-cigarette oil was 1 ng/mg, and the LOQ was 2 ng/mg. The average recoveries of CUMYL-PEGACLONE under the attempt at high, intermediate and low levels in blank human hair and e-cigarette oil matrix were 98.2%-132.4% and 93.5%-110.6%, and the intraday and intraday precision were 1.2%-12.9% and 0.7%-2.9%. CUMYL-PEGACLONE was detected in the hair of 15 drug-involved persons. Except for 1 person who was lower than LOQ, the concentration of CUMYL-PEGACLONE in the hair of other 14 persons was 0.035-0.563 ng/mg. The mass fraction of CUMYL-PEGACLONE in 2 e-cigarette oil were 0.17% and 0.21%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS The established HPLC-MS/MS and GC-MS methods are applied to the detection of HPLC-MS/MS in drug-related cases, which provides strong evidence support for the handling authority to quickly investigate these cases, and also provides a reference for the identification of such substances in future.
Humans ; Illicit Drugs/analysis* ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry ; Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems ; Cannabinoids ; Hair/chemistry* ; Limit of Detection ; Substance Abuse Detection/methods*

BACKGROUND: Many studies have investigated heavy metal exposure could increase the occurrence of congenital heart defects (CHDs). However, there are limited data regarding the relationship between cobalt exposure and CHD occurrence in offspring. The aim of this study was to analyze the association between cobalt exposure in mothers and the risk of CHDs in offspring. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In order to explore the association between cobalt exposure and occurrence of congenital heart defect (CHD), a case-control study with 490 controls and 399 cases with CHDs in China were developed. The concentrations of cobalt in hair of pregnant woman and fetal placental tissue were measured and processed by a logistic regression analysis to explore the relationship between cobalt exposure and risk of CHDs. RESULTS: The median concentration of hair cobalt in the control and case group was 0.023 ng/mg and 0.033 ng/mg (aOR, 1.837; 95% CI, 1.468-2.299; P < 0.001), respectively. And the median (5-95% range) fetal placental cobalt concentrations were 19.350 ng/g and 42.500 ng/g (aOR, 2.924; 95% CI, 2.211-3.868; P < 0.001) in the control and case groups, respectively. Significant differences in the middle level of cobalt in hair were found in the different CHD subtypes, including septal defects, conotruncal defects, right ventricular outflow tract obstruction, and left ventricular outflow tract obstruction (P < 0.001). Dramatically, different cobalt concentrations in fetal placental tissue were found in all subtypes of cases with CHDs (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS The finding suggested that the occurrence of CHDs may be associated with cobalt exposure.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Case-Control Studies ; China ; Cobalt ; adverse effects ; Female ; Hair ; chemistry ; Heart Defects, Congenital ; chemically induced ; Humans ; Maternal Exposure ; adverse effects ; Placenta ; chemistry ; Pregnancy ; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects ; chemically induced ; Risk Factors ; Young Adult

Amphetamines are chemical synthetic drugs that are becoming increasingly popular in China. As a common sample in the inspection of poisons, hair has the advantages of easy storage, good stability, and long detection time compared with traditional human body fluid samples （blood, urine）, thus possesses an unique application value in the field of forensic toxicology analysis. By now, methods for detecting amphetamines in human hair have been widely used, and validity of the results has been recognized and adopted by the court. This paper reviews domestic and foreign research progress of the detection of amphetamines in hair samples, including the pretreatment and analytic methods.
Amphetamines/analysis* ; China ; Forensic Toxicology ; Hair/chemistry* ; Humans ; Substance Abuse Detection

OBJECTIVESTo investigate the hair growth-promoting effect of Miscanthus sinensis var. purpurascens (MSP) flower extracton on in vitro and in vivo models.

METHODSMSP flower extract was extracted in 99.9% methanol and applied to examine the proliferation of human dermal papilla cells (hDPCs) in vitro at the dose of 3.92-62.50 μg/mL and hair growth of C57BL/6 mice in vivo at the dose of 1000 μg/mL. The expression of transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1), hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), β-catenin, substance P was measured by relative quantitative realtime polymerase chain reaction. Histopathological and immunohistochemical analysis were performed.

RESULTSMSP (7.81 μg/mL) down-regulated TGF-β1 and up-regulated HGF and β-catenin in hDPCs (P<0.01). MSP (1000 μg/mL)-treated mice showed the earlier transition of hair follicles from the telogen to the anagen phase. The number of mast cells was lower in the MSP-treated mice than in other groups (P<0.05 vs. NCS group). Substance P and TGF-β1 were expressed in hair follicles and skin of the MSP group lower than that in negative control. Stem cell factor in hair follicles was up-regulated in the MSP-treated mice (P<0.01).

CONCLUSIONSThe MSP flower extract may have hair growth-promotion activities.

Animals ; Antioxidants ; pharmacology ; Cell Count ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases ; metabolism ; Female ; Flowers ; chemistry ; Hair Follicle ; cytology ; drug effects ; growth & development ; Hepatocyte Growth Factor ; metabolism ; Humans ; Mast Cells ; cytology ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Phosphorylation ; drug effects ; Plant Extracts ; pharmacology ; Poaceae ; chemistry ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; metabolism ; Skin ; metabolism ; Stem Cell Factor ; metabolism ; Stress, Psychological ; pathology ; Substance P ; metabolism ; Transforming Growth Factor beta ; genetics ; metabolism ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A ; genetics ; metabolism ; beta Catenin ; metabolism

Mercury is a global pollutant. Children are vulnerable to environmental toxicants. Seafood consumption is a major source of methylmercury exposure. In order to ascertain children's mercury exposure levels and study their relationship with seafood consumption, we conducted a cross-sectional study among preschool children in Shanghai. According to our data, the geometric mean of the mercury levels in children's hair was 191.9 (95% CI: 181.8, 202.4) μg/kg. These results indicate that high income may be a predictor of elevated mercury levels in children's hair. Intake of marine fish, especially tuna and pomfret, was documented in our study and found to increase the risk of high mercury levels. Frequency of fish consumption was positively related with hair mercury levels. Our study is the first to provide baseline data for hair mercury concentration among preschool children in Shanghai.
Child, Preschool ; China ; Food Contamination ; Hair ; chemistry ; Humans ; Mercury ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Seafood ; analysis ; Socioeconomic Factors ; Water Pollutants, Chemical ; chemistry

OBJECTIVES: To infer the frequency of dosage and medication history investigate of the victims in drug facilitated cases by the segmental analysis of clonazepam in hair. METHODS: Freezing milling under liquid nitrogen environment combined with ultrasonic bath was used as sample pretreatment in this study, and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was used for the segmental analysis of the hair samples collected from 6 victims in different cases. The concentrations of clonazepam and 7-aminoclonazepam were detected in each hair section. RESULTS: Clonazepam and its metabolite 7-aminoclonazepam were detected in parts of hair sections from the 6 victims. The occurrence time of drug peak concentration was consistent with the intake timing provided by victims. CONCLUSIONS Segmental analysis of hair can provide the information of frequency of dosage and intake timing, which shows an unique evidential value in drug facilitated crimes.
Adult ; Chromatography, Liquid ; Clonazepam/analysis* ; Crime ; Forensic Medicine/methods* ; Forensic Toxicology ; Hair/chemistry* ; Humans ; Mass Spectrometry ; Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization ; Substance Abuse Detection/methods* ; Ultrasonics

OBJECTIVETo observe the effect and mechanism of Dendrobium candidum polysaccharides (DCP) in promoting hair growth, in order to lay a foundation for the development and utilization of D. candidum.

METHODThe water-extraction and alcohol-precipitation method was adopted to extract DCP, and the phenol-sulphuric acid method was used to determine its content. Thirty C57BL6J mice were collected to establish the hair loss model with hair removal cream. They were randomly divided into the control group, the positive control group and the DCP group, and given 0.2 mL of ultra-pure water, minoxidil tincture and DCP (5.0 g x L(-1)) 21 days. The mice hair growth scoring standard was adopted to evaluate the hair growth of C57BL/6J mice at 7, 14 d. The hairs in unit hair-losing areas of treated C57BL/6J mice at 21 d were weighed to evaluate the effect of DCP on the promotion of hair growth. MTT assay and RT-PCR method were used to evaluate the effect of DCP on the proliferatin of HaCaT cells and the mRNA expression of VEGF in HaCaT cells.

RESULTThe extraction percent of DCP was 29.87%, and its content was 79.65%. The average scores for the hair growth and weight of C57BL/6J mice of DCP group were much higher than the control group. The survival rate and mRNA expression of VEGF of HaCaT cells were much higher than the control group.

CONCLUSIONDCP has the effect in promoting hair growth. Its mechanism may be related to the up-regulation of the mRNA expression of VEGF.

Animals ; Cell Line ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Dendrobium ; chemistry ; Female ; Gene Expression Regulation ; drug effects ; Hair ; drug effects ; growth & development ; Humans ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Polysaccharides ; pharmacology ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; metabolism ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A ; genetics

BACKGROUNDModern research has provided new insights into the biological mechanisms of noise-induced hearing loss, and a number of studies showed the appearance of increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) during and after noise exposure. This study was designed to investigate the noise exposure induced nitrotyrosine change and the mechanism of outer hair cells death in guinea pig cochlea.

METHODThirty guinea pigs were used in this study. The experimental animals were either exposed for 4 hours per day to broadband noise at 122 dB SPL (A-weighted) for 2 consecutive days or perfused cochleae with 5 mg/ml of the SIN1 solutions, an exogenous NO and superoxide donor, for 30 minutes. Then the cochleae of the animals were dissected. Propidium iodide (PI), a DNA intercalating fluorescent probe, was used to trace morphological changes in OHC nuclei. The distribution of nitrotyrosine (NT) in the organ of Corti and the cochlear lateral wall tissue from the guinea pigs were examined using fluorescence immunohistochemistry method. Whole mounts of organ of Corti were prepared. Morphological and fluorescent changes were examined under a confocal microscope.

RESULTSEither after noise exposure or after SIN1 perfusion, outer hair cells (OHCs) death with characteristics of both apoptotic and necrotic degradation appeared. Nitrotyrosine immunolabeling could be observed in the OHCs from the control animals. After noise exposure, NT immunostaining became much greater than the control animals in OHCs. The apoptotic OHC has significant increase of nitrotyrosine in and around the nucleus following noise exposure. In the normal later wall of cochleae, relatively weak nitrotyrosine immunolabeling could be observed. After noise exposure, nitrotyrosine immunoactivity became stronger in stria vascularis.

CONCLUSIONNoise exposure induced increase of nitrotyrosine production is associated with OHCs death suggesting reactive nitrogen species participation in the cochlear pathophysiology of noise-induced hearing loss.

Animals ; Cell Death ; Cochlea ; chemistry ; pathology ; Female ; Guinea Pigs ; Hair Cells, Auditory, Outer ; pathology ; Immunohistochemistry ; Male ; Noise ; adverse effects ; Organ of Corti ; chemistry ; pathology ; Tyrosine ; analogs & derivatives ; analysis

OBJECTIVE: To establish the electricity plate digestion and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) method for determination of 33 inorganic elements in human hair. METHODS: Lithium (6Li), Germanium (72Ge), Yttrium (89Y), Indium (115In), and Terbium (159Tb) were used as internal standards. The electric heating board digestion in a mixture of nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide was used as the pre-treatment of the hair. Thirty-three inorganic elements in human hair were analyzed by ICP-MS method. RESULTS: The detection limit of ICP-MS was 0.0001 microg/g(Th)-10.9 microg/g (Ca) and the limit of quantitation was 0.0005 microg/g (Th)-25 microg/g (Ca). The recovery rate of this method was 86%-113%. The RSD for the intra-day and inter-day were less than 9.2%. The method was not statistically different from microwave digestion method. CONCLUSION This method is highly efficient and accurate. It can be used for analysis of 33 inorganic elements in human hair.
Electricity ; Hair/chemistry* ; Humans ; Limit of Detection ; Mass Spectrometry/methods* ; Microwaves ; Reference Standards ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Trace Elements/analysis*