Recreation of a Hair Follicle Regenerative Microenvironment: Successes and Pitfalls

The article discusses the challenges and successes in recreating a hair follicle regenerative microenvironment in vitro, highlighting the mechanisms underlying hair follicle morphogenesis and cycling, and the strategies attempted so far to bioengineer human hair follicle models or skin models capable of sustaining hair follicle formation in vitro. The authors explore the use of different cell sources and advanced biofabrication techniques, as well as the importance of the extracellular matrix in directing hair growth and the maintenance of cell function. The study highlights both successes and pitfalls in recreating a hair follicle regenerative microenvironment in vitro, with the most successful approach involving using pluripotent stem cell lines to produce hair-bearing skin organoids similar to 18-week human fetal skin.