Impact of Adipose-Derived Stem Cells on Engineering Hair Follicle Germ-Like Tissue Grafts for Hair Regenerative Medicine

June 2021 in “ Journal of Bioscience and Bioengineering ”

Rikuma Nakajima, Yoshiki Tate, Lu Yan, Tatsuto Kageyama, Junji Fukuda

adipose-derived stem cells hair follicle germ hair regeneration human dermal papilla cells murine embryonic epithelial cells gene expression hair shafts hair follicles tissue grafts alopecia hASCs HFG hDPCs

TLDR Adding human fat-derived stem cells to hair follicle grafts greatly increases hair growth.

The study explored the role of human adipose-derived stem cells (hASCs) in creating hair follicle germ (HFG)-like tissues and their effect on hair regeneration. Researchers combined hASCs with human dermal papilla cells (hDPCs) and murine embryonic epithelial cells to form HFG-like aggregates. These aggregates self-organized into a structure conducive to hair growth, with hASCs enhancing gene expression related to hair development. When transplanted into nude mice, the HFG-like tissues containing hASCs produced significantly more hair shafts than those without hASCs, indicating a 14-fold increase in hair generation. Histological analysis confirmed the formation of hair follicles with typical features. The findings suggest that hASCs could be a promising addition to tissue grafts for hair regenerative medicine, although further research is needed, particularly with human cells from alopecia patients.

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