Characterization of Hair Follicle Development in Engineered Skin Substitutes
June 2013
in “
PLOS ONE
”
hair follicle development engineered skin substitutes human keratinocytes murine dermal papilla cells chimeric skin substitutes pigmented hairs sebaceous glands gene expression analysis hair-related genes tissue-engineered skin hair regeneration hair restoration hair growth skin grafts hair cells mouse skin cells mixed skin substitutes colored hairs oil glands gene study hair genes artificial skin hair treatment
Studysummary This study demonstrated that engineered skin substitutes using human keratinocytes and murine dermal papilla cells can develop pigmented hairs without sebaceous glands, suggesting separate pathways for hair development and eruption.
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In the 2013 study, researchers explored hair follicle development in engineered skin substitutes (ESS) by grafting human keratinocytes and murine dermal papilla cells onto mice. They found that chimeric skin substitutes formed pigmented hairs without sebaceous glands, while murine-only substitutes formed external hairs with glands, and human-only substitutes did not form follicles or glands at all. The chimeric hair did not naturally erupt through the skin, but hair shafts were visible upon removal of the skin's upper layer. Gene expression analysis showed upregulation of hair-related genes and downregulation of a sebaceous gland marker, indicating that sebaceous glands are not essential for hair development in ESS. The study concluded that while ESS can support hair regeneration, there are limitations, such as the absence of sebaceous glands and the hair's inability to erupt naturally. This research contributes to the understanding of hair follicle development in tissue-engineered skin and the potential for hair restoration, particularly for burn patients.
