The Use of Polyethylenimine–DNA to Topically Deliver hTERT to Promote Hair Growth
May 2011
in “
Gene Therapy
”
polyethylenimine PEI DNA complex human telomerase reverse transcriptase hTERT cell proliferation stem cell in vitro in vivo rat dorsal skin B-gal bulge region dermal sheath hair follicles growth phase resting phase transfection new hair follicles wounding gene therapy alopecia skin diseases cancer risks
TLDR Using polyethylenimine-DNA to deliver the hTERT gene can stimulate hair growth and may be useful in treating hair loss, but there could be potential cancer risks.
In 2011, a study investigated the use of a polyethylenimine (PEI)-DNA complex carrying the human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) gene to stimulate hair growth. The PEI-DNA complex induced cell proliferation in 35.8% of the purified stem cell population in vitro. In vivo experiments on rat dorsal skin showed cells positive for B-gal in the bulge region and dermal sheath of hair follicles. The hTERT-transfected region entered the growth phase 15 days after transfection, while non-transfected controls remained in the resting phase. The hTERT gene also promoted the formation of new hair follicles after wounding, with the PEI-DNA complex group showing more regenerating hair follicles (83 ± 52 per rat) 60 days after wounding, compared to the control group (15± 15 per rat). The study suggested potential for gene therapy in treating alopecia and other skin diseases, but also noted the need for long-term follow-up due to potential cancer risks.
