Mimicking Hair Disorders by Genetic Manipulation of Organ-Cultured Human Hair Follicles

In 2012, Samuelov et al. conducted a study using organ-cultured human hair follicles to replicate hair disorders. They suppressed the P-cadherin gene in follicular keratinocytes by transfecting the follicles with SiRNA nucleotides. This manipulation mirrored the hair follicle phenotype seen in patients with hypotrichosis with juvenile macular dystrophy (HJMD), establishing a link between loss of P-cadherin, suppression of the canonical Wnt signaling pathway, and upregulation of TGFB2. The study demonstrated the potential of using in vitro cultured human hair follicles to mimic genetic and phenotypic abnormalities seen in other human hair disorders. However, the researchers noted that organ-cultured hair follicles lack several features of in vivo hair follicles, such as a native vasculature system, neuro-endocrine supply, intact immunity, and influences of surrounding micro- and macro-environments and global regulators.