A New Model of Blood Vessel Remodeling

The study explored the hypothesis that physiological vascular remodeling occurs in the skin, particularly in relation to hair follicles, by analyzing the depilation-induced hair growth cycle in mouse skin. It was found that hair follicles can modulate their surrounding vasculature by synthesizing blood vessel-specific growth factors like VEGF and angiopoietins, which change in expression according to the hair growth cycle. The research demonstrated that angiogenesis occurs during anagen (growth phase) and vascular regression during catagen (regression phase), with significant changes in microvessel density and endothelial cell numbers. The study highlighted the complexity of growth factors involved in hair growth-associated vascular remodeling and suggested that manipulating the perifollicular vasculature could be a potential therapeutic approach for hair growth disorders.