Perifollicular vascularization: Cocultures and tricultures approaches to study the cross-talk between microvascular endothelial cells, follicle papilla cells and keratinocytes

The study from 2015 investigated the interaction between follicle dermal papilla cells (FDPCs), human microvascular endothelial cells (HMVECs), and keratinocytes in vitro to understand their role in hair follicle vascularization and potential implications for hair growth and hair loss conditions like Androgenetic Alopecia. The findings showed that FDPCs greatly enhanced the survival, growth, and tube formation of HMVECs, surpassing the effects of dermal fibroblasts. FDPCs also increased the release of proangiogenic growth factors such as VEGF and IGF-1. In a tri-culture system, the conditioned medium stimulated the proliferation of follicular keratinocytes and influenced the expression of metabolic factors and inflammatory cytokines. The study concluded that papilla cells are key in the vascular remodeling of the hair follicle, which is important for understanding the mechanisms behind hair growth and loss.