The Potential Role of Fibroblast-Derived Multi-Peptide Factors in Activation of Growth Factors and Beta-Catenin in Hair Follicle Cells

The study investigated the effects of multi-peptide factors (MPFs) contained in dermal fibroblast-conditioned medium (DFCM) on hair growth. The DFCM was prepared using human neonatal dermal fibroblasts and used to culture outer root sheath (ORS) and dermal papilla (DP) cells. The results showed that MPF-containing DFCM increased the expression of keratinocyte growth factor (KGF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and epidermal growth factor (EGF) mRNA in ORS cells, and KGF and VEGF mRNA in DP cells. Additionally, the secretion of several growth factors was increased in the cell-cultured medium when ORS cells were treated with MPF-containing DFCM. The study also found that MPF-containing DFCM increased the transcriptional activation of β-catenin in DP cells. The findings suggest that MPF-containing DFCM might stimulate hair growth by inducing growth factors in ORS and DP cells and regulating β-catenin in DP cells.