TLDR Human hair follicle cells can be successfully transformed into different types of cells, but not more efficiently than other adult cells.
The 2012 study investigated the ability of hair follicle dermal papilla (DP) cells to be reprogrammed into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). The researchers successfully transformed human DP cells into DP-iPSCs, which demonstrated pluripotency and could differentiate into various cell and tissue types both in vitro and in vivo. However, the efficiency of reprogramming DP cells was not significantly different from adult human fibroblasts, suggesting no major improvement in reprogramming efficiency using DP cells over dermal fibroblasts for creating human iPSCs. The study concluded that the human hair follicle offers a readily available source of cells that can be reprogrammed to create iPSCs.
330 citations
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December 2009 in “Cell stem cell” SKPs are similar to adult skin stem cells and could help in skin repair and hair growth.
131 citations
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July 2009 in “Experimental Dermatology” The document concludes that specific cells are essential for hair growth and more research is needed to understand how to maintain their hair-inducing properties.
38 citations
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April 2005 in “Journal of Investigative Dermatology” Human hair follicle cells can become fat and bone cells, useful for therapy.
7 citations
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July 2018 in “Stem cell research” Hair samples can be used to create stem cells easily and non-invasively.
142 citations
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February 2016 in “Science” Foxc1 helps keep hair follicle stem cells inactive, preventing hair loss.
15 citations
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March 2014 in “Acta naturae” Researchers made stem cells from human hair follicle cells with higher efficiency than from skin cells.
8 citations
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January 2014 in “PubMed” Researchers made stem cells from human hair follicle cells with better efficiency than from skin cells.
26 citations
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February 2012 in “Journal of Investigative Dermatology” Human hair follicle cells can be successfully transformed into different types of cells, but not more efficiently than other adult cells.
January 2009 in “Hubei nongye kexue” Stem cells in cashmere goats are found in hair follicles and have a slow growth rate.
66 citations
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August 2001 in “Experimental Dermatology” Human hair follicle cells can grow hair when put into mouse skin if they stay in contact with mouse cells.
