Can an In Vitro Hair Drug Model Be Developed Using Dermal Papilla Cells Alone?

In the quest to develop in vitro models for hair growth drug testing, researchers have been exploring whether dermal papilla (DP) cells alone can suffice. The study in question investigated the potential of DP microtissues, created by culturing DP cells in PDMS molds to form spheroids, to serve as a model for hair drug screening. The microtissues expressed all 126 signature DP genes, with 104 genes showing over 1.5-fold upregulation compared to 2D-cultured DP cells. Key genes in hair growth pathways were notably upregulated. The model was tested with hair growth-controlling drugs, successfully indicating the catagen-inducing effect of dexamethasone and the anagen-inducing effects of cyclosporin A, minoxidil, and bimatoprost. Although the study does not claim that DP cells alone can fully replicate the complex epithelial–mesenchymal interactions of hair follicles, the findings suggest that DP microtissues could be a useful tool for the initial screening of hair growth drugs. The research was funded by the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology in Singapore, and the authors declare no competing financial interests.