text | Li Muzi
Artificial hair follicles generated by hair follicle organoids. Image source: Yokohama National University, Japan
0 By modifying the embryonic skin cells of mice, researchers at Yokohama National University in Japan cultivated hair follicles that can grow to 3 mm in one month. This is the first time that mature hair follicles have been cultivated in the laboratory and are expected to be used to treat hair loss . Related research was published in "Science Advances" on October 21.
Kairban Hodivala-Dilke of Queen Mary University, London, UK, who was not involved in the study, said that artificial hair follicles have been very difficult historically. "Different types of cells require different nutrients. Different types of nutrients are also required when they are in vitro, compared to when they are in vitro."
mammalian hair follicles are usually produced in embryos, which is the result of the interaction between skin cells and connective tissue .
To better understand these interactions, Junji Fukuda of Yokohama National University in Japan and colleagues studied hair follicle organoids—a tiny, simple organ.
By controlling the structure of organoids, the research team is able to promote the growth of hair follicles.
"We studied various conditions, including growth factor, activators and inhibitors of signaling pathway , and necessary media components," Fukuda said.
The team's main breakthrough is to cultivate mouse embryonic skin cells in a special gel so that the cells can be regenerated into hair follicles.
"When people think of hair follicles, they know that it has hair in the middle, and there is a layer of epithelial cells and other special cells around it." Hodivala-Dilke said the gel allows these cells in the laboratory to grow in a way that climbs and surrounds each other as if they were inside the body.
hair follicles reached 3 mm long after one month of growth. "This may be related to the hair growth cycle of the mice at about 1 month," Fukuda said. The team is currently re-exercising using human cells.
According to Hodivala-Dilke, lab-cultivated human hair follicles can one day treat hair loss. "Maybe it can be taken from someone with a lot of hair, let it grow in the lab, and then transplanted these follicles," she said. Existing hair transplants require transplanting hair from a part of the body to a sparse or bald area, which can cause scars .
"This discovery will not cure hair loss, but it lays the foundation for treating hair loss," said Hodivala-Dilke.
Related paper information:
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.add4603
