Researchers from the United States and Japan managed to cultivate functional hair follicles in the laboratory capable of naturally fulfilling hair growth cycles.
The innovation was recently communicated through a study in Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications. If confirmed, it is something completely revolutionary in the growing implant industry: the research identifies a biological element that has been neglected in previous experiments.
Without a cure, hair loss is a headache for many men. Currently, the options available mainly involve hair transplants and medications that can delay or delay hair loss, but which rarely allow for a complete recovery of lost hair and which can have other health consequences.
Until now, most attempts to produce hair follicles in the laboratory have used two main types of cells: epithelial stem cells, responsible for hair production, and dermal papilla cells, which emit signals that regulate hair growth, explains . Although these approaches have allowed the creation of initial follicle-like structures, the results have always fallen short of expectations.
The main obstacle was functional: the follicles formed did not connect properly to the surrounding tissue and, therefore, did not behave like natural follicles. In many cases, they only began to show some activity after being transplanted. Now, the new investigation may have found a way to overcome this blockage.
Scientists have introduced a third component into the process: so-called accessory mesenchymal cellswhich function as structural support: they help to form the tissue that surrounds the follicle and stabilize the so-called “bulge”, an area considered essential for hair growth.
According to the researchers, when this third cell type was added, right in the initial stages, the follicles grown in the laboratory began to behave more similarly to natural ones: they were able to connect to the surrounding tissue and go through normal growth cycles without the need for prior transplantation.
Although exciting, it is essential to keep in mind that, so far, all trials have been carried out in rats, and the Human trials have not yet begun. Furthermore, production on a sufficient scale and the creation of safe methods to transplant these follicles into the human scalp remain unresolved.
“In future studies, we intend to elucidate the lineage of hair bulb mesenchymal cells and their roles in hair follicle development and the hair cycle in vivo, in addition to paving the way for hair follicle regeneration through humanized models,” the researchers write.
“This work defines a fundamental cellular configuration for the functional regeneration of the hair follicle”, says, quoted by , Yoshio Shimo, CEO of OrganTech, who was not directly involved in the study.
