A Human Folliculoid Microsphere Assay for Exploring Epithelial-Mesenchymal Interactions in the Human Hair Follicle

October 2008 in “ The journal of investigative dermatology/Journal of investigative dermatology ”

Blanka Havlíčková, Tamás Bı́ró, Alessandra Mescalchin, Miriam Tschirschmann, Hans‐Joachim Mollenkopf, Albrecht Bettermann, Paolo Pertile, Roland Lauster, Enikő Bodó, Ralf Paus

human folliculoid microspheres HFMs epithelial-mesenchymal interactions human hair follicles dermal papilla fibroblasts outer root sheath keratinocytes extracellular matrix hair growth-modulatory agents hair growth markers target genes hair growth drugs hair growth agents

Studysummary This study presents a novel in vitro assay using human folliculoid microspheres to research hair growth, which may facilitate preclinical testing of hair growth-modulatory agents. Our plain-language summary of this paper — not a Tressless recommendation.

This pilot study introduced a novel organotypic assay using human folliculoid microspheres (HFMs) to explore epithelial-mesenchymal interactions in human hair follicles. HFMs, composed of human dermal papilla fibroblasts and outer root sheath keratinocytes within an extracellular matrix, retained key interactions characteristic of human scalp hair follicles. The study demonstrated that HFMs could be used to assess the effects of hair growth-modulatory agents on relevant hair growth markers under simplified in vitro conditions. Additionally, HFMs proved useful for identifying target genes and products for potential hair growth drugs, making them a valuable tool for both basic and applied hair research.

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