Extensive Hair-Shaft Elongation by Isolated Mouse Whisker Follicles in Very Long-Term Gelfoam® Histoculture

The study demonstrated that Gelfoam® histoculture supported extensive hair-shaft growth and sensory-nerve growth in isolated mouse whisker follicles over long periods. Using transgenic mice with nestin promoter-driven GFP, researchers observed that nestin-expressing stem cells contributed to the elongation of the whisker sensory nerve. Hair shafts, both pigmented and unpigmented, showed rapid growth by day-4, continuing until day-12, and remained constant thereafter. By day-63, there was a significant increase in ND-GFP hair follicle stem cells, with follicles remaining intact. This method provided a prolonged period for testing new agents to promote hair growth.