Clock genes, hair growth and aging

Hair follicles undergo continuous cycles of growth, involution and rest. This process, referred to as the hair growth cycle, has a periodicity of weeks to months. At the same time, skin and hair follicles harbor a functional circadian clock that regulates gene expression with a periodicity of approximately twenty four hours. In our recent study we found that circadian clock genes play a role in regulation of the hair growth cycle during synchronized hair follicle cycling, uncovering an unexpected connection between these two timing systems within skin. This work, therefore, indicates a role for circadian clock genes in a cyclical process of much longer periodicity than twenty four hours.