April 2016 in “The journal of investigative dermatology/Journal of investigative dermatology” This study found that hair follicles may provide a safe space for tumor cells in mice, suggesting a potential target for cancer prevention during the dormant phase of tumor development.
October 2024 in “Preprints.org” This review by two dermatologists suggests that hair on the human scalp may protect against skin cancer not just physically, but by enabling IL-17 immune surveillance, with hair loss potentially leading to increased tumor growth due to reduced immunosurveillance.
November 2024 in “International Journal of Molecular Sciences” In this review, the authors discuss how hair may protect against scalp skin cancer by enabling IL-17-biased immunosurveillance, while hair loss could permit tumor development by reducing this immune protection.
17 citations
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March 2012 in “The Journal of Pathology” This article argues that lineage labeling with genetic markers is the gold standard for identifying epithelial stem cells, contrary to the view that in vitro methods alone are sufficient.
63 citations
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April 2010 in “Development” This article discusses the bi-compartmental organization of hair follicle stem cell niches for balancing stem cell cycling and organ growth and proposes similar structures may exist in other adult stem cell niches but reports no new experimental results.