A team of researchers from Japan studying the processes of hair follicle growth and hair pigmentation has successfully generated hair follicles in cultures. Their in vitro hair follicle model adds to the understanding of hair follicle development which could contribute to development of useful applications in treating hair loss disorders, animal testing, and drug screenings.
A team of researchers from Japan studying the processes of hair follicle growth and hair pigmentation has successfully generated hair follicles in cultures. Their in vitro hair follicle model adds to the understanding of hair follicle development which could contribute to development of useful applications in treating hair loss disorders, animal testing, and drug screenings.
Their findings were published in Science Advances on October 21.
As an embryo develops, interactions occur between the outer layer of skin called the epidermal layer and the connective tissue called mesenchyme. These interactions work kind of like a messenger system to trigger hair follicle morphogenesis. Morphogenesis is the process in an organism where cells are organized into tissues and organs.
During the last several decades, scientists have explored the crucial mechanisms related to hair follicle development using animal models. Because fully understanding these mechanisms for hair follicle development remains challenging, hair follicle morphogenesis has not been successfully reproduced in a laboratory culture dish.
More recently organoid cultures have received widespread attention. Organoids are tiny, simple versions of an organ—scientists produce and use them to study tissue and organ development and pathology in a laboratory culture dish.
