This study reviews the regulatory mechanisms and molecular processes governing stem cell activity in hair follicles, highlighting their roles in hair regeneration and potential implications for treating hair and skin disorders.
January 2024 in “The journal of investigative dermatology/Journal of investigative dermatology” In this study, researchers found that AP-2α and AP-2β are critical for maintaining epidermal homeostasis in adult skin, with their combined loss leading to severe skin and hair abnormalities and early skin inflammation due to impaired keratinocyte differentiation.
November 2023 in “Biomolecules” In this study involving genetically modified rats, researchers observed that specific mutations in the vitamin D receptor affect calcium levels and bone formation, emphasizing the receptor's role in maintaining healthy bone density and its importance in regulating hair cycle and skin health.
November 2023 in “Biology” This study investigated m6A RNA modification in hair follicle development, finding that Hycole rabbits displayed longer hair, higher primary hair follicle ratios, and thicker skin compared to Rex rabbits, while also identifying key differential genes and pathways involved in hair growth.
August 2023 in “Bioengineering” This systematic review reports that bioprinting technology holds significant potential for improving patient quality of life by enabling personalized medical treatments, reducing organ transplant rejection risks, and accelerating skin tissue regeneration, although many advancements are still at the research stage.
June 2023 in “Frontiers in Medicine” This study identified core genes and pathways involved in androgenetic alopecia, finding that genes related to hair follicle development are down-regulated, while those linked to immune responses are up-regulated, highlighting potential therapeutic targets.
In this study, researchers observed a high degree of plasticity in somatosensory axons innervating Merkel cells in adult mouse skin, with both epithelial and neural components exhibiting dynamic remodeling, highlighting intricate epithelial-neural interactions in maintaining homeostasis.
This study in adult mice found that somatosensory axons innervating Merkel cells in the skin are highly plastic, with significant remodeling in response to epithelial turnover, and that Merkel cells play a role in limiting axonal branching and promoting their maturation.
January 2022 in “Springer eBooks” This review discusses the potential of the hair follicle dermis to direct hair development and explores concepts related to hair growth and androgenetic alopecia, without reporting new clinical results.
January 2012 in “Journal of Investigative Dermatology” The document presented various studies on hair and cutaneous development, revealing insights into hair biology and potential therapeutic targets for hair-related conditions. Key findings included the role of stem cells and their niches in hair regeneration, the impact of TACE/ADAM17 depletion on alopecia, and the expression of somatostatin in hair follicles. Research on genetic factors, such as CYLD mutants and P-cadherin, highlighted their importance in hair growth and pigmentation. Studies on hair aging identified genes involved in hair loss in women over 40. Additionally, the potential of keratinocyte precursors from iPS cells for hair follicle regeneration and the effectiveness of a parathyroid hormone analog in reversing chemotherapy-induced alopecia were explored. The document also discussed the role of cholesterol biosynthesis in cicatricial alopecia, the necessity of Wnt signaling for hair follicle initiation, and the effects of ATP-sensitive potassium channel blockers on hair growth. These findings collectively advanced the understanding of hair growth, alopecia treatment, and skin regeneration.
January 2023 in “Applied sciences” This study suggests that Equisetum debile extracts, particularly the ethyl acetate fraction, may offer natural cosmeceutical benefits for treating hyperpigmentation, delaying skin aging, and remediating hair loss due to androgenic alopecia.
November 2022 in “Regenerative Therapy” This review discusses various tissue engineering approaches for hair follicle regeneration and biomaterials used, emphasizing its potential despite current clinical challenges.
2 citations
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January 2022 in “BioMed Research International” This study found that newly developed nanogels for transdermal delivery of finasteride were stable, showed excellent drug permeation through the skin, and ensured biocompatibility without causing irritation or toxicity.
March 2026 in “Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology” This review reports that transcriptional and epigenetic mechanisms in epithelial stem cells guide their fate in the epidermis and hair follicles, crucial for skin homeostasis, but disruptions can lead to disease.
71 citations
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November 2005 in “The journal of investigative dermatology. Symposium proceedings/The Journal of investigative dermatology symposium proceedings” This review discusses the role of Edar signaling in hair follicle development and cycling, emphasizing its impact on cell fate, differentiation, and interactions with other pathways, but reports no new results.
61 citations
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June 2022 in “Journal of Controlled Release” This review discusses the advantages, applications, and current trends of dissolving microneedles for drug delivery across various therapeutic areas and reports no new clinical results.
May 2026 in “The EMBO Journal” This study demonstrated how cellular flows and tissue mechanics guide the topological transformations in avian skin, essential for feather follicle development from scales.
March 2025 in “International Journal of Molecular Sciences” This review explores melatonin's role in hair follicle cycles and its molecular mechanisms that enhance antioxidant capacity and modulate gene expression, offering potential strategies to improve cashmere production and treating human alopecia, according to the authors.
2 citations
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December 2025 in “Cosmetics” This review reports on the effects of aging on hair characteristics such as pigmentation, growth, and structural properties across genders and ethnicities, highlighting the importance of scalp health and suggesting cosmetic solutions to improve the appearance of aged hair.
31 citations
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July 2017 in “Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology” This study observed that apremilast treatment improved skin lesions and reduced pruritus in patients with chronic, severe atopic dermatitis and one case of hand and foot dermatitis.
July 2023 in “bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)” This study found that back skin mesenchyme from mouse embryos can induce hair follicle formation even before dermal condensate formation, but R-spondin-1 alone or with a Bmp receptor inhibitor was not sufficient for hair follicle induction.
April 2018 in “Journal of Investigative Dermatology” This study found that the cell of origin in mouse skin affects melanoma phenotype and response to therapies, despite the presence of the same genetic mutations.
62 citations
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July 1993 in “Journal of Investigative Dermatology” Hair growth is influenced by interactions between skin layers, growth factors, and hormones, but the exact mechanisms are not fully understood.
271 citations
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March 1999 in “Developmental biology” This study reveals that overexpression of Wnt3 in transgenic mouse skin leads to a short-hair phenotype and cyclical balding due to structural defects in hair shafts, highlighting a role for WNT signaling in hair growth regulation.
160 citations
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January 2014 in “Seminars in cell & developmental biology” This review discusses the shared molecular and cellular processes in the early development stages of skin appendages like hair follicles, teeth, and mammary glands, reporting no new results.
77 citations
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April 2016 in “Science Advances” Researchers created a fully functional, bioengineered skin system with hair from stem cells that successfully integrated when transplanted into mice.
32 citations
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December 2014 in “Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine” This article reviews the role of polarity proteins in epidermal morphogenesis and homeostasis and discusses how their alteration may contribute to skin disease, but reports no new experimental findings.
32 citations
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January 2005 in “Advances in Biochemical Engineering / Biotechnology” This review discusses the unique capacity of fetal skin to heal wounds without scarring and notes that while many factors have been identified, the complete mechanism of fetal wound healing remains unclear.
28 citations
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August 2018 in “BMC genomics” This study found that the DNA methylation status of skin samples from cashmere goats was higher during the telogen stage compared to the anagen stage, identifying genes potentially important for hair follicle development and growth.
26 citations
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March 2018 in “Dermatology and Therapy” This study found that conditioned media from epidermal progenitor cells improved skin aging signs in a clinical trial and protected fibroblasts from oxidative stress in vitro.