Bioengineering Hair Regeneration from Adult Stem Cells
Hair loss is not an isolated problem but a global predicament. The huge sums of money invested in the hair industry encompassing hair transplant technologies, hair loss treatment medication, and the cosmetics sector producing wigs etc. is proof of the importance human beings give to their crowning glory.
Functional hair regeneration from adult stem cells instead of embryonic cells is a highly sophisticated research field. Researchers are trying to rejuvenate hair growth by bioengineering hair follicles that are reconstructed from adult epithelial stem cells and dermal papilla cells.
These can regenerate and produce fully functional hair follicles leading to healthy hair growth. The bioengineered hair follicles exhibited restored hair cycles with proper structures forming connections with surrounding tissues like the epidermis, nerve fibers and so on.
During experiments researchers found that bioengineered follicles that were implanted on mice grew hair which was functional and formed connections with surrounding cells. What more they were able to grow new hair even when the hair was removed.
The experiments did not just involve hair of mice in the transplant but also experimented with human hair. The mice were able to grow hair from human stem cells also that were procured from the balding scalp of a man.
With further research, developments, experiments and trials researchers will be able to extract thousands of stem cells from skin taken from the scalp of a bald man and made to produce healthy hair follicles. These can then be injected on the bald scalp area to grow new hair that is natural.
Taking the experiments further it was found that when a particular type of stem cell was added to the bioengineered hair follicle the lab mice grew colored hair. This gives the possibility that older men can enjoy having colored hair and not just grow grey or white hair.
The use of adult stem cells in organ replacement therapy has also been proved to be possible with the successful results obtained from studying hair regeneration.
Researchers said that bioengineering will optimize regenerative therapy for hair loss caused by injury or which occurs due to conditions like alopecia and androgenic alopecia. This study may also help in finding ways to use human hair follicle-derived stem cells for other clinical applications.
Lead research professor Takashi Tsuji, Professor in the Research Institute for Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science, and Director of Organ Technologies Inc. and his team of experts in reconstructive surgery, regenerative medicine and aesthetic surgery, published the
results of the study on “bioengineered organ replacement as a next stage of regenerative therapy” in Nature Communications. This research highlights the importance of stem cells and their role in hair regenerative therapy in future.
Hairfear
