Hair Follicle Regeneration From Human Pluripotent Stem Cells

    Evan Y. Snyder
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    Studysummary This study found that human embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells differentiated into specific bulge stem cells and successfully formed new hair follicles when transplanted with mouse dermal cells in immunodeficient mice.
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    In 2017, researchers developed a method to differentiate human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) into CD200+/ITGA6+ bulge stem cells (BSCs) that can reconstitute the epithelial components of the hair follicle (HF). The co-transplantation of these hESCs or hiPSC-derived CD200+/ITGA6+ cells with trichogenic mice dermal cells into immunodeficient Nude mice resulted in HF formation. The newly formed HFs contained all HF lineages, including the hair shaft, and the inner and outer root sheaths. Human HF stem cell markers such as keratin-15 were detected in the reconstituted HFs, and the human origin of the epithelial cells in the new HFs was confirmed. This development suggested a significant step towards developing cell-based treatments for alopecia.
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