Hair Follicle Model To Accelerate New Treatments For Baldness

Researchers in Singapore have developed a new 3D hair follicle model that may help in the discovery of new drugs for hair regeneration.

Asian Scientist (Jul. 23, 2013) – Researchers in Singapore have developed a new 3D hair follicle model that may help in the discovery of new drugs for hair regeneration.

Hair loss, due to aging or medical conditions, is a common disorder that affects many men and women. Although currently available drugs can minimize further hair loss, they are unable to regrow hair.

Now, researchers at the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) in Singapore have created a hair follicle-like structure that exhibits properties of real hair follicles.

The hair follicle is a regenerating organ that produces a new hair shaft during each growth cycle.

It is hoped that the 3D hair follicle model can help in better understanding the mechanisms that control the development and growth of hair follicles, eventually leading to a cure for baldness.

The IBN team fabricated the 3D hair follicle model by combining two types of hair cells, namely, dermal papilla cells and keratinocytes, an epithelial cell type, within a translucent fibrous matrix.

“Measuring the diameter of a strand of hair, our hair follicle-like structure exhibits similar cell behavior as real hair follicles,” said Dr Andrew Wan, leader of the research team.

“In our model, the hair cells are implanted into very fine and transparent fibers, which can be easily examined under the microscope unlike conventional models, making them ideal for drug testing applications.”

The researchers found that the cells in their hair follicle-like structures switched on genes that are usually active during the hair growth stage, and when transplanted into mice, they could grow further into natural-looking hair structures.

If commercialized, this technology could be used by pharmaceutical companies in the drug discovery stage to screen potential promoters or inhibitors of hair formation. Consumer care companies could also use the model to screen the effectiveness of active ingredients in personal care products for hair growth.

The article can be found at: Lim et al. (2013) Follicular Dermal Papilla Structures By Organization Of Epithelial And Mesenchymal Cells In Interfacial Polyelectrolyte Complex Fibers.

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Source: A*STAR; Photo: Chimpanz APe/Flickr.
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