Wencai Zhai
Researcher at Yantai University and first author of a mouse study showing that the plant compound pungenin speeds hair regrowth in hormone-driven hair loss
College of Life Sciences, Yantai University (at the time of the study, 2026)
Androgenetic alopecia is the common pattern hair loss driven by male hormones. A hormone called DHT shrinks hair follicles, and the enzyme 5-alpha-reductase makes DHT from testosterone. In the Atlas study ZHAI2026, Zhai and colleagues in Gang Li's group treated mice with DHT to cause hair loss, then applied pungenin, a plant compound, to the skin. Hair grew back faster, the follicles made less type II 5-alpha-reductase, and genes in the PI3K/AKT/FoxO/mTOR pathway, which controls cell growth and survival, changed their activity in hair follicle cells.
The mTOR link rests on gene activity measurements in mice, not on blocking or activating mTOR directly, so it shows association rather than cause. It has not been tested in people.
This is the only PubMed record for Wencai Zhai at Yantai University; other papers under the initials Zhai W at Yantai belong to a different person. The affiliation shown is the one on the Atlas paper.
Milestones in the Atlas
A selection, not a full bibliography: only papers that meet the Atlas inclusion criteria.
| Year | Evidence | Study |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | A | Pungenin Promotes Hair Growth in Mouse Models of Androgenic Alopecia Through Transcriptional Regulation of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR Axis. ZHAI2026 First author: ran the mouse experiments showing that pungenin on the skin sped hair regrowth, with lower 5-alpha-reductase and changes in PI3K/AKT/FoxO/mTOR gene activity. |
Co-authors in the Atlas 3
People with a profile here who share at least one study with Wencai Zhai.
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- Gang Li Researcher at the College of Life Sciences, Yantai University, and senior author of a mouse study of the plant compound pungenin and hair regrowth
- Jun Yang Contributed to a study showing that pungenin promotes hair growth in mouse models of androgenic alopecia through the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway
- Lei Zhang Contributed to a 2026 mouse study showing that the plant compound pungenin relieves androgenic alopecia through the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway
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