Hair Follicle Reconstruction and Stem Cells

The document from 2017 reviews the role of stem cells in hair follicle (HF) reconstruction and the potential of using Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors to treat alopecia areata. It emphasizes the importance of three-dimensional culture of dermal papilla (DP) cells to maintain their hair-inducing properties and notes that combining DP cells with adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) can improve HF formation. The review also mentions that extracts from neural stem cells can stimulate hair growth more effectively than minoxidil. Despite the challenges in reconstructing fully functional HFs from postnatal cells, there have been some successes in generating hair-like structures that can develop into HFs after transplantation. Ongoing clinical trials are using cultured cells to treat alopecia, but often with unspecialized interfollicular cells. The document suggests that further research could lead to large-scale culture technologies for DP cells and a better understanding of their self-maintenance mechanisms. The work was funded by the Russian Science Foundation and conducted by researchers from Russian institutions.