Could Adult Human Cells be converted into Epithelial Stem Cells Used to Regrow Hair?

It's a problem for old men. It's a problem for some young men. It's even a problem for TV show characters and cartoons, and unfortunately, some women, too. We're talking about hair loss, of course, and with today's narcissistic tendencies to have a flowing ombre just like Ozzy, when balding happens, it's sad, frustrating and down-right heartbreaking. But there's help, according to scientists from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. And with most scientific successes, it involves those totipotent tissues-stem cells.

According to lead study author and associate professor at the university, Xiaowei "George" Xu, MD, PhD, he and researchers found that by converting adult cells into epithelial stem cells (EpSCs), hair growth was achieved in mice.

Researchers found that when they implanted the epithelial stem cells into immunocompromised mice, they were able to regenerate different cell types of human skin and hair follicles by producing structurally recognizable hair shafts that raised the possibility for hair regeneration in humans.

They started with human skin cells known as dermal fibroblasts and added three genes that were then converted into pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). These cells carry the capability to differentiate into any cell type in the body! Then, the researchers converted the iPSCs cells into epithelial stem cells.

Xu's team found that through careful control of the timing of growth factors in which the cells were received, they could force the iPSCs to create large numbers of epithelial stem cells. Over a span of 18 days, the researcher succeeded in turning over 25 percent of the iPSCs into these cells, in which they were then used as purified proteins and expressed on their surfaces.

When the study authors mixed the cells with mouse follicular inductive dermal cells and grafted them onto the skin of immunodeficient mice, they were able to produce a functional human epidermis and follicles that were structurally similar to human hair follicles.

"This is the first time anyone has made scalable amounts of epithelial stem cells that are capable of generating the epithelial component of hair follicles," Xu said, via a press release, adding that the cells hold great potential for cosmetic purposes, hair regeneration and even wound healing.

However, Xu concludes that at this time, the iPSC-derived epithelia stem cells are not yet ready to be used on human subjects.

"When a person loses hair, they lose both types of cells." Xu explained, via the release. "We have solved one major problem, the epithelial component of the hair follicle. We need to figure out a way to also make new dermal papillae cells, and no one has figured that part out yet."

More information regarding the study can be found via the journal Nature Communications.