Genetics, aging, childbirth, cancer treatment, burn injuries, and medical disorders such as alopecia are among the reasons why more than 80 million men, women, and children in the United States experience hair loss. The condition is often associated with emotional distress, which can reduce the quality of life and result in anxiety and depression. Fortunately for these people, scientists from Sanford Burnham Prebys have achieved a significant scientific achievement that could revolutionize the hair growth industry.
They have successfully grown functional hair follicles from stem cells. Using human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), they created natural-looking hair that grows through the skin. Their findings earned them a Merit Award at the annual meeting of the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) and Stemson Therapeutics (a newly formed company) has licensed the technology.
Alexey Terskikh, Ph.D., an associate professor in Sanford Burnham Prebys’ Development, Aging and Regeneration Program and the co-founder and chief scientific officer of Stemson Therapeutics, said:
Our new protocol described today overcomes key technological challenges that kept our discovery from real-world use. Now we have a robust, highly controlled method for generating natural-looking hair that grows through the skin using an unlimited source of human iPSC-derived dermal papilla cells. This is a critical breakthrough in the development of cell-based hair-loss therapies and the regenerative medicine field.
Terskikh studies a specific type of cell called dermal papilla which resides inside the hair follicle. These cells control hair growth, including hair thickness, length, and growth cycle. His studies lead him to successfully grow hair underneath mouse skin (subcutaneous) by creating dermal papilla derived from human pluripotent stem cells in 2015. Since then, they have been perfecting the procedure.
Terskikh said:
Our new protocol described today overcomes key technological challenges that kept our discovery from real-world use. Now we have a robust, highly controlled method for generating natural-looking hair that grows through the skin using an unlimited source of human iPSC-derived dermal papilla cells. This is a critical breakthrough in the development of cell-based hair-loss therapies and the regenerative medicine field.
How they did it:
- The approach features a 3-D biodegradable scaffold made from the same material as dissolvable stitches.
- The scaffold controls the direction of hair growth and helps the stem cells integrate into the skin, a naturally tough barrier.
- The current protocol relies on mouse epithelial cells combined with human dermal papilla cells.
- The experiments were conducted in immunodeficient nude mice, which lack body hair.
Now the Terskikh lab is working on the derivation of the epithelial part of a hair follicle from human iPSCs. Combined human iPSC-derived epithelial and dermal papilla cells will enable the generation of entirely human hair follicles, ready for allogeneic transplantation in humans. This approach to hair follicle regeneration differs from all others because human iPSCs provide an unlimited supply of cells and can be derived from a simple blood draw.
Richard Chaffoo, M.D., F.A.C.S., a triple board-certified plastic surgeon who founded La Jolla Hair MD and is a medical adviser to Stemson Therapeutics, said:
Hair loss profoundly affects many people’s lives. A significant part of my practice involves both men and women who are seeking solutions to their hair loss. I am eager to advance this groundbreaking technology, which could improve the lives of millions of people who struggle with hair loss.
