Human Scalp Skin as an Abundant and Accessible Source for Eccrine Sweat Gland Isolation and Organ Culture

    April 2018 in “ ˜The œjournal of investigative dermatology/Journal of investigative dermatology ”
    Majid Alam, Jonathan A. Hardman, Ralf Paus, Francisco Jiménez
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    TLDR Researchers found a new way to isolate sweat glands from the scalp for study and culture.
    In 2018, researchers developed a simple and efficient method to isolate intact human eccrine glands (EGs) from follicular units (FUs) of the scalp, which is a rich source of these glands. Traditional methods of EG isolation were either challenging and low-yield or damaged gland functions due to enzymatic digestion. The new method, inspired by the follicular unit extraction (FUE) technique used in hair transplantation, involves staining FUs with vital dyes for visibility during stereoscopic microdissection. The isolated EGs remained viable for up to 6 days in organ culture, showing high uptake and expression of cell viability markers. This advancement in EG isolation is significant for studying sweat gland responses to pharmacological agents and could be valuable for research into normal and pathological sweat gland function. The researchers are currently working on inducing sweat production in the isolated and cultured EGs.
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