Apoptotic Study on the Effect of Fluorine and Selenium on the Human Hair Follicle In Vitro

The study investigated the effects of fluorine and selenium on human hair follicle apoptosis in vitro. It was found that sodium fluoride at concentrations of 1 mmol/L and 10 mmol/L increased apoptotic cells in various parts of the hair follicle by the 5th day of culture. However, the addition of 0.01 mmol/L sodium selenite reduced the toxicity of 1 mmol/L sodium fluoride, particularly in the outer root sheath and hair bulb. This indicated that sodium fluoride could accelerate hair follicle apoptosis, while sodium selenite could mitigate its toxic effects.