“Two-Cell Assemblage” Assay: A Simple in vitro Method for Screening Hair Growth-Promoting Compounds
November 2020
in “Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology”
TLDR The "Two-Cell Assemblage" assay is a new, simple method to identify substances that may promote hair growth.
The document details the creation of the "Two-Cell Assemblage" (TCA) assay, a novel in vitro method for identifying hair growth-promoting compounds. This assay utilizes a 3D co-culture of human dermal papilla (hDP) cells and human outer root sheath (hORS) cells, which together form a structure that elongates over time, especially when treated with hair growth-promoting agents. The study validated the assay by applying known hair growth compounds (minoxidil, valproic acid, purmorphamine, and tofacitinib) and observed a dose-dependent increase in both the length of the TCA and the expression of hair growth-related genes (VEGF, HGF, IGF1, FGF7, FGF10, PDGFA, and PDGFB). Despite its simplicity and high-throughput capability, the authors note that the TCA assay does not completely replicate the in vivo hair follicle environment and suggest incorporating additional cell types and structures in future models. The study included human participants who provided informed consent.
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