Towards Expansion of Human Hair Follicle Stem Cells In Vitro

The document from April 28, 2011, presents a study on the in vitro expansion of human hair follicle stem cells (HFSCs). Researchers successfully cultured HFSCs, both commercially available and directly isolated from hair follicles, using a specially developed medium and various supports like polystyrene, laminin, and Matrigel-coated surfaces. They achieved a two-fold expansion of these cells over 4 weeks, with flow cytometry showing an increase in the proportion of CD200+ cells, which are indicative of HFSCs, from 43.3% to 78.2% after magnetic enrichment. The expanded cells maintained their phenotype, with 80% being CD200+. The study concluded that it is possible to culture and expand HFSCs without differentiation, which is promising for stem-cell therapy in treating hair loss, despite the slow proliferation rate indicating a need for a large number of follicles for therapeutic use.