Towards Developing an Organotypic Model for the Preclinical Study and Manipulation of Human Hair Matrix-Dermal Papilla Interactions
January 2021
in “
Archives of dermatological research
”
TLDR The study created a new model to better understand human hair growth and health.
The study developed a novel human hair research model to address the limitations of previous in vitro models that failed to accurately replicate the complex interactions in hair follicles (HFs). This new model utilized dermal papilla (DP) fibroblasts cultured as 3-dimensional spheroids (DPS) in combination with plucked anagen hair shafts (HS). The DPS were found to express hair follicle inductivity markers such as alkaline phosphatase (ALP), versican, and noggin, while the plucked HS retained significant remnants of the anagen hair matrix. When DPS and HS were cultured together, the DPS adhered to and surrounded the HS, enhancing the expression of the differentiation marker keratin-85 (K85) in the HS (p < 0.0001) and reducing the percentage of apoptotic (TUNEL +) cells in the proximal HS (p = 0.0508). This model represents a potentially physiologically relevant method for studying hair follicle differentiation in the human anagen hair matrix.