This review synthesizes current advances in transcriptomics and RNA regulatory networks, alongside stem cell-derived skin organoid research, to propose a conceptual framework for understanding and potentially guiding regenerative skin repair, without claiming clinical readiness.
April 2021 in “Journal of Investigative Dermatology” This study identified a unique transcriptional signature in occipital hair follicles that may protect them from miniaturization in androgenetic alopecia, using an animal-free model to investigate gene roles.
21 citations
,
January 2018 in “Journal of Investigative Dermatology” This study found that large excisional wounds in rats across seven strains do not regenerate new hair follicles, unlike in mice, possibly due to differences in epidermal competence and transcriptional profiles.
June 2023 in “Research Square (Research Square)” In this study, researchers used spatial transcriptome profiling to identify immune disturbances in the peri-infundibular region of androgenetic alopecia patients’ hair follicles, finding increased CD4+ T cells with a bias toward Th2 immune responses compared to controls.
10 citations
,
November 2022 in “Protein & Cell” In this study, topical quercetin was found to stimulate hair follicle growth and promote microvascular regrowth in mice, suggesting its potential for hair regrowth strategies.
This study identified CD28 as a promising drug target for treating alopecia areata, using a multi-omics approach to highlight its role in immune regulation and linking it to favorable safety profiles, thus offering a strategy for autoimmune target discovery.
This study identified CD28 as a potential drug target in treating alopecia areata by linking immune signaling pathways to local inflammation, highlighting belatacept as a promising treatment option due to minimal adverse effects and providing insights into autoimmune target discovery.
November 2022 in “The journal of investigative dermatology/Journal of investigative dermatology” This study used single-cell and spatial transcriptomic profiling to identify specific molecular markers in human follicular dermal papilla cells, enhancing understanding of their role in hair follicle development.
April 2026 in “Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology” This study found that CD200-negative human hair follicle bulge cells have a higher hair-regenerative capability compared to CD200-positive cells, suggesting that reduced CD200 expression may enhance hair regeneration, providing insights for improving bulge cell-based hair restoration techniques.
April 2026 in “Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB)” This study investigated human hair follicle bulge cells and found that those with reduced CD200 expression exhibited enhanced hair regenerative capability, refining the functional understanding of bulge cell heterogeneity and providing insights for optimizing bulge cell–based hair regeneration techniques.
11 citations
,
June 2016 in “Stem Cell Research” This study found that a multicolor panel of four surface markers can identify new stem cell populations in mouse hair follicles, providing insights into stem cell diversity and gene expression discrepancies during tissue culture.
127 citations
,
March 2016 in “PLoS ONE” This study found that transcriptome profiling of cashmere goat skin revealed key genes and pathways involved in hair follicle initiation, differentiation, and maturation, which are critical for improving fleece production.
April 2023 in “Journal of Investigative Dermatology” In this study, researchers developed a detailed spatial atlas of healthy human skin and basal cell carcinoma, revealing that basal cell carcinoma likely originates from hair follicles and involves expansion of specific fibroblast subpopulations found in healthy skin.
December 2025 in “BMC Medical Genomics” This study demonstrated that RNA-seq can effectively expand hair follicle transcriptomic profiling in a multi-center study, offering deeper insights than blood transcriptomics alone.
September 2022 in “bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)” This study found that hair follicles and urine cell pellets from noninvasive samples may be the most promising for transcriptomic analyses due to their consistent quality and applicability to disease-relevant research.
9 citations
,
December 2023 in “BMC Genomics” This study examined noninvasive tissue samples, including buccal swabs, hair follicles, saliva, and urine cell pellets, and found hair follicles and urine cell pellets promising for transcriptomic and clinical analyses due to their sample quality and performance in disease-relevant applications.
March 2026 in “Skin Appendage Disorders” This study identified CD28, GZMB, and CD1C as key immune regulators in alopecia areata, highlighting CD28 as a potential therapeutic target with a promising safety profile, using a proteome-anchored multi-omics approach to uncover actionable targets for this autoimmune hair-loss disorder.
2 citations
,
April 2022 in “Genes” This study identifies a polygenic basis for atypical recurrent flank alopecia in Cesky Fousek dogs through genome-wide association analysis and gene expression profiling, highlighting several metabolic pathways involved in the condition.
4 citations
,
May 2025 in “The Journal of Immunology” This review explores how molecular profiling in atopic dermatitis has led to new therapeutic developments, detailing approved and potential treatments, and discusses similar advances in alopecia areata; it reports no new results.
August 2018 in “bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)” This study identifies diltiazem as a promising repurposed drug for treating influenza, supported by its antiviral activity and gene modulation effects, leading to a Phase II clinical trial authorization.
23 citations
,
August 2017 in “Genome” This study identified several genes and signaling pathways, such as Wnt and MAPK, involved in fur development in Chinchilla rex rabbits, providing insights into skin and hair follicle growth.
1 citations
,
October 2017 in “Circulation” The researchers reported that introduction of SOX9 in ischemic heart tissues is linked to cardiac fibrosis, marking it as a potential target for future therapeutic strategies.
December 2023 in “bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)” This study observed that extracellular matrix scaffold membranes performed less effectively in wound healing for aged mice compared to younger ones, with senescent SPP1+ macrophages potentially hindering epidermal and fibroblast repair abilities.
12 citations
,
January 2013 in “International Journal of Genomics” In this study, researchers used mRNA sequencing to identify and categorize over 49,000 contigs in goat skin, revealing significant gene activity related to metabolism, cell cycle, and cell division during hair growth.
52 citations
,
February 2021 in “Genomics Proteomics & Bioinformatics” This review explains methods for studying chromatin variation at the single-cell level using scATAC-seq and discusses integrating these measures with other omics platforms but reports no new results.
12 citations
,
February 2025 in “Scientific Reports” This study found that extracellular vesicles derived from mesenchymal stem cells and umbilical cord blood plasma enhanced wound healing and reduced scar formation in mice, suggesting their potential as therapeutic agents for skin repair.
2 citations
,
April 2021 in “bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)” This study found that skin surface lipids contain measurable mRNAs, providing a non-invasive way to study skin diseases, with specific gene expression changes observed in atopic dermatitis patients.
February 2026 in “British Journal of Dermatology” This study found that while tape-strip RNA sequencing effectively profiles surface-connected epithelial compartments of human hair follicles, deeper follicular programs require traditional biopsies, except in cases of alopecia areata, which enhances the technique's follicular reach in capturing inflammatory signatures.
November 2025 in “Clinical and Translational Medicine” This study found that cell-free RNA, particularly DNAJB9, shows potential as a biomarker for diagnosing and prognosing female androgenetic alopecia using a machine learning model.
10 citations
,
March 2022 in “Communications biology” In this study, researchers found that non-invasive analysis of skin surface lipid RNAs revealed alterations in gene expression patterns associated with atopic dermatitis, suggesting its potential for understanding skin disease pathophysiology.