Hair Morphogenesis In Vitro: Formation of Hair Structures Suitable for Implantation

August 2008 in “ Regenerative Medicine ”

Jizeng Qiao, Anya Turetsky, Paul Kemp, Jeff Teumer

Studysummary In this study, murine follicular cell aggregates developed into hair-like structures in culture, which upon implantation into mice skin matured into complete hair follicles, suggesting potential for treating hair loss.

Our plain-language summary. Not medical advice or a treatment recommendation. Consult a qualified healthcare professional before changing treatment. Full disclaimer

In a study from 15 years ago, researchers successfully created proto-hairs in vitro from mouse follicular cells and implanted them into athymic mice, resulting in the development of mature hair follicles. These proto-hairs were formed by incubating aggregates of isolated embryonic mouse skin cells, which then resembled early hair structures. Upon implantation, 50-60% of these proto-hairs developed into follicles with pigmented hair shafts within 4 weeks, and hair shafts emerged from the skin in about 40% of the follicles. The pigmentation served as evidence that the hair originated from the implanted cells, as the donor cells were from a black-pigmented strain of mice and the recipients were albino. The implanted proto-hairs not only looked normal, including the presence of sebaceous glands, but also showed sustained growth and the ability to regrow after plucking. This research indicated the potential for using proto-hairs derived from human cells for hair regeneration in humans and as a tool for studying hair biology and testing hair growth substances. The number of mice used in the study was not specified.

View this study on futuremedicine.com →

Discuss this study in the Community →

Research cited in this study

13 / 13 results

research Scratching the Surface of Skin Development

788 citations , February 2007 in “Nature”

This review explores how adult skin epithelia preserve stem cell populations for hair follicle regeneration and wound healing, but reports no new experimental results.

research Hair Follicle Reformation Induced by Dermal Papilla Cells from Human Scalp Skin

32 citations , August 2006 in “Archives of Dermatological Research”

This study found that dermal papilla and sheath cells can induce hair follicle formation in vitro and in vivo by interacting with hair follicle epithelial cells.

research Follicular Cell Implantation: An Emerging Cell Therapy for Hair Loss

13 citations , May 2005 in “Seminars in Plastic Surgery”

This article discusses the cell therapy potential of follicular cell implantation for hair regeneration and reports no new clinical results, emphasizing the role of dermal papilla cells in forming new follicles.

research Organogenesis From Dissociated Cells: Generation of Mature Cycling Hair Follicles From Skin-Derived Cells

205 citations , April 2005 in “Journal of Investigative Dermatology”

This study describes a system for generating hair follicles from dissociated cells in mice, suggesting that successful development requires a foundational epithelial platform.

research Dermal Papilla-Induced Hair Differentiation of Adult Epithelial Stem Cells from Human Skin

90 citations , August 2004 in “Physiological Genomics”

This study found that coculturing human hair follicle keratinocyte stem cells with dermal papilla cells increased expression of the hair-specific keratin 6hf gene, which requires β-catenin/lef-1 signaling for hair differentiation.

Cultured Peribulbar Dermal Sheath Cells Can Induce Hair Follicle Development and Contribute to the Dermal Sheath and Dermal Papilla

research Cultured Peribulbar Dermal Sheath Cells Can Induce Hair Follicle Development and Contribute to the Dermal Sheath and Dermal Papilla

208 citations , December 2003 in “Journal of Investigative Dermatology”

This study found that dermal papilla and peribulbar dermal sheath cup cells in mice can both induce hair follicle formation, suggesting they may have similar functional roles in hair growth.

research Molecular Biology of Hair Morphogenesis: Development and Cycling

155 citations , August 2003 in “Journal Of Experimental Zoology Part B: Molecular And Developmental Evolution”

This review discusses the conserved molecular mechanisms controlling hair follicle development and cycling and suggests they may also apply to other ectodermal derivatives, like teeth and feathers, but it reports no new results.

research Molecular Mechanisms Regulating Hair Follicle Development

854 citations , February 2002 in “The journal of investigative dermatology/Journal of investigative dermatology”

This review summarizes recent advances in understanding the molecular mechanisms of hair follicle formation and discusses potential future clinical applications for treating hair loss and skin tumors, but it reports no new clinical results.

research Trans-Species Hair Growth Induction by Human Hair Follicle Dermal Papillae

66 citations , August 2001 in “Experimental Dermatology”

This study demonstrated that intact adult human dermal papillae can induce hair growth when implanted into mouse hair follicles, highlighting their potential for advancing hair follicle biology and therapeutic approaches.

research The Biology of Hair Follicles

1113 citations , August 1999 in “The New England Journal of Medicine”

This article discusses the biologic and psychosocial significance of hair, the current limitations in hair growth drugs, and anticipates future therapies based on advancing hair follicle research.

research Whole Hair Follicle Culture

57 citations , October 1996 in “Dermatologic clinics”

This study found that using hyaluronic acid microneedles to deliver minoxidil significantly reduced hair loss in chemotherapy-induced alopecia mice, with only 10% of the dose used in topical applications.

research The Upper Dermal Sheath Has Potential to Regenerate Hair in Rat Follicular Epidermis

31 citations , September 1996 in “Differentiation”

This study claims that the upper dermal sheath of rat vibrissa follicles can induce hair growth under specific conditions, challenging prior beliefs about its lack of inductive capacity.

research Induction of Follicle Formation and Hair Growth by Vibrissa Dermal Papillae Implanted into Rat Ear Wounds: Vibrissa-Type Fibres Are Specified

125 citations , August 1992 in “Development”

This study found that implanting isolated adult rat dermal papillae into ear cuts led to the emergence of unusually large vibrissa-type hair follicles, demonstrating their capacity to induce specific hair fiber characteristics.