At the Dawn of Hair Research – Testing the Limits of Hair Follicle Regeneration
February 2014
in “
Experimental Dermatology
”
TLDR Hair follicle regeneration is possible but challenging, especially in humans, due to the need for specific cells and a better understanding of how they signal growth.
In 2014, the commentary discussed the potential and challenges of hair follicle regeneration, emphasizing the role of highly inductive mesenchymal cells in robust hair regeneration. It noted the pioneering studies by Roy Oliver in the late 1960s, which showed that the dermal sheath could regenerate and differentiate into dermal papilla cells. The commentary highlighted the difficulty in improving the hair-inducing properties of adult human dermal papilla cells, as their inductive potential was not as easily replicated as that of mouse cells. The author stressed the need for a better understanding of the signaling basis behind the inductive properties of hair follicle mesenchyme.
