Dermal Sheath Cells Contribute to Postnatal Hair Follicle Growth and Cycling
February 2016
in “
Journal of Dermatological Science
”
Studysummary This article discusses the roles of dermal papilla and sheath cells in hair follicle formation and regeneration but reports no new clinical findings, emphasizing the need for further research on these fibroblasts. Our plain-language summary of this paper — not a Tressless recommendation.
The document from 7 years ago discussed the role of fibroblasts, specifically dermal papilla (DP) and dermal sheath (DS) cells, and keratinocytes in the production and maintenance of hair follicles. It highlighted that while keratinocytes are the primary constituents of hair follicles that generate the hair structure, the contribution of dermal fibroblasts to hair follicle neogenesis and regeneration is less well defined. The paper noted that DP cells of growing follicles possess hair-inducing ability and interact with keratinocytes to achieve regenerative hair growth. However, attempts to elicit human follicle neogenesis with cultured human DP cells have not been very successful, partly because they lose inductivity during passaging. The document suggested that more research was needed to better understand the role of the mesenchyme in intact follicles, particularly the DS, which had received little attention.
