Self-Organization Process in Newborn Skin Organoid Formation Inspires Strategy to Restore Hair Regeneration of Adult Cells

August 2017 in “ Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America ”

Mingxing Lei, Linus J. Schumacher, Yung-Chih Lai, Wen-Tau Juan, Chao‐Yuan Yeh, Ping Wu, Ting‐Xin Jiang, Ruth E. Baker, Randall B. Widelitz, Li Yang, Cheng‐Ming Chuong

hair regeneration newborn mouse skin hair-bearing organoids transplantation PKC inhibition growth factors Wnts MMPs morphological phases environmental reprogramming protein kinase C inhibition matrix metalloproteinases

Studysummary This study found that newborn mouse skin organoids can robustly grow hair in vivo, while adult organoids require specific interventions to restore their hair-forming ability. Our plain-language summary of this paper — not a Tressless recommendation.

In the 2017 study, researchers found that dissociated cells from newborn mouse skin can self-organize into hair-bearing organoids, which can grow hair when transplanted into nude mice. This process involves six morphological phases and is regulated by the sequential expression of various molecules. Adult mouse cells, however, initially failed to progress beyond small aggregates in vitro. By manipulating the cellular environment, specifically through PKC inhibition and the timed addition of growth factors, Wnts, and MMPs, the researchers were able to restore the hair-forming ability of adult cells. The study highlights the importance of the sequence of morphological events and the potential for environmental reprogramming to achieve complex tissue regeneration, which could inform future hair regeneration therapies. The number of subjects (mice) used in the study was not specified.

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