Khaberni - Scientists have taken a new step towards developing an effective treatment for baldness, after a joint research team from the United States and Japan managed to create functional hair follicles in the lab that undergo natural growth cycles for the first time.
The researchers revealed, according to "Science Alert," that the key to this achievement is identifying a previously missing type of cells that support regeneration and stimulate full hair growth and allow the follicles to adhere to the surrounding tissues.
It should be noted that the experiments have so far been conducted on mice; meaning that the practical translation of these results to a human treatment still requires more research and testing.
Nevertheless, the discovery represents an important step towards restoring hair follicle growth in cases where the body has stopped producing hair naturally.
The researchers pointed out that hair follicles previously created using epithelial stem cells and dermal papilla cells were unable to grow or connect with the tissues in the lab, and only functioned when implanted into the living mouse skin.
The crucial addition in this research was the helper dermal cell, which provides the supporting structure around the "follicle bulge" and its dermal sheath; allowing follicles to undergo growth cycles and connect with the tissues under laboratory conditions.
The researchers confirmed that the next phase will focus on studying the role of these cells in the growth of hair follicles on a human model, in preparation for developing treatments capable of fully restoring hair.
The team indicates that this technique may later pave the way for developing other organs in the lab, focusing on the less visible but vital cells in tissue formation.
Some members of the team participate in OrganTech, a company that funded part of the research and aims to produce lab-grown hair follicles that can be implanted in humans in the future.
These cultivated follicles can also be used to evaluate hair loss treatments and understand the hair growth cycle without the need for animal or human trials.
Yoshio Shimo, CEO of OrganTech, said: "This work defines the basic cellular composition for the regeneration of functional hair follicles, and enhances our strategy in regenerative medicine at the organ level, where coordinated cell interactions allow for the stable and functional reconstruction of tissues."
