Cocktail Cell-Reprogrammed Hydrogel Microspheres Achieving Scarless Hair Follicle Regeneration

    January 2024 in “ Advanced Science ”
    Shuaifei Ji, Yingying Li, Lei Xiang, Mingyue Liu, Mingchen Xiong, Wenguo Cui, Xiaobing Fu, Xiaoyan Sun
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    Studysummary In this study, researchers used a chemical cocktail and hydrogel microspheres to successfully guide fibroblasts into dermal papilla cells, promoting wound healing and in situ hair follicle regeneration while reducing scar formation, in both in vitro and in vivo experiments. Our plain-language summary of this paper — not a Tressless recommendation.
    The study presents a new method for skin wound repair and hair follicle regeneration using Adhesive Hair Follicle Seed (AHFS) microspheres. These microspheres, developed with a chemical cocktail of FDA-approved drugs Tideglusib and Tamibarotene, can convert human dermal fibroblasts (HDF) into dermal papilla cells (DPC), which are essential for hair growth. The AHFS microspheres activate the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway, promoting wound healing and hair follicle regeneration while inhibiting scar formation. The study also found that AHFS-treated cells can facilitate epidermal keratinocyte mitosis and proliferation, and activate hair regeneration-related genes. In vivo, AHFS accelerated wound healing and facilitated hair follicle regeneration without scarring. This approach could provide a new perspective in the biomaterial design for scarless wound healing and functional skin repair.
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