Organ Culture of Human Hair Follicles in Serum-Free Medium

The study investigated the culture of human hair follicles in a serum-free medium at 31°C with 95% O2 and 5% CO2, observing hair growth over 96 hours. The hair follicles maintained normal morphology, and DNA synthesis in the hair bulb increased over time. Minoxidil sulphate was found to enhance DNA synthesis in a concentration-dependent manner, with significant effects at concentrations of 10^-10, 10^-9, and 10^-8 M. Autoradiographs showed that DNA synthesis was localized in the germinative cells below Auber's critical line. The findings suggested that this organ culture system could be useful for studying DNA synthesis in hair germinative cells without serum.