Bulge-Derived Epithelial Cells Isolated From Human Hair Follicles Using Enzymatic Digestion Or Explants Result In Comparable Tissue-Engineered Skin

February 2025 in “ International Journal of Molecular Sciences ”

Bettina Cattier, Rina Guignard, I. Martel, Christian Martel, Carolyne Simard‐Bisson, Danielle Larouche, B. Guiraud, S. Bessou‐Touya, Lucie Germain

bulge-derived epithelial cells human hair follicles enzymatic digestion explant cultures tissue-engineered skin keratinocyte regenerative medicine

TLDR Enzymatic digestion is an efficient method for isolating cells from hair follicles for tissue-engineered skin.

This study developed a protocol for isolating bulge-derived epithelial cells from human hair follicles to create tissue-engineered skin. By using enzymatic digestion, researchers achieved 5.3 times more epithelial cells compared to explant cultures after 8 days, with faster proliferation than a benchmark method. The cells from all methods showed similar morphology and growth rates, and the tissue-engineered skin exhibited comparable differentiation potential. The enzymatic digestion method enhances early-stage cell recovery and expansion while maintaining keratinocyte functionality, providing an efficient technique for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.

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