Human hair is a common contaminant in GMP-controlled manufacturing environments, and its identification is important for contamination source investigation and corrective action. Because human hair can originate from multiple body sites, it is often necessary to determine not only the species of origin but also the anatomical source of the hair. Conventional forensic approaches distinguish scalp hair from body hair by microscopic examination of cuticle patterns, medullary structure, cross-sectional morphology, and pigment distribution. However, these methods depend on examiner expertise, are difficult to apply to damaged specimens, and provide limited quantitative information. In this study, we developed a proteomics-based approach for distinguishing scalp hair from pubic hair using identical sample preparation and analytical workflows. Comparative proteomic analysis identified keratin-associated proteins KAP 4-3 and KAP 9-6 as enriched in scalp hair, whereas cuticular keratins Ha7 and Ha8 were strongly enriched in pubic hair. Amino acid composition analysis further revealed that scalp hair-enriched proteins were highly cysteine-rich, consistent with sulfur-rich cross-linking matrix proteins, whereas pubic hair-enriched proteins exhibited characteristics of structural keratin filaments. These results demonstrate that proteomic signatures can provide a quantitative and objective means of determining the anatomical origin of human hair and may contribute to contamination source tracing in GMP manufacturing and forensic investigations.
Ogata, N., MATSUDA, T.
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