Researchers confirm that the stem cells can help fight baldness. They claim that vanishing or dying hair follicle can be regenerated using stem cells, unlike earlier when creating an ample number of follicles producing stem cells to give rise to visible hair growth was a challenge.
Researchers achieved success in inculcating stem cells in mice, which transforms into a variety of skin cells and hair follicles. In the future, with this technique they hope to regrow hair in humans.
To begin with researchers employed a form of skin cells named as dermal fibroblasts. To these cells were added three genes which remodelled them into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) capable of turning into any other form of cells in the human body. These were then transformed into a form of cell essential for hair growth.
The team exhibited that by regulating the timing of the growth of the cells, they could generate numerous stem cells. Later these stems cells were blended with a skin cells of mice. They were then transferred onto the skin of the mice who had who had their immune systems curbed in order to prevent the mouse immune system from rejecting the transplant.
The team, revealed that cells could produce an effective outer layer and hair follicles comparable to fair follicle found in humans.
From the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia, researcher Dr Xiaowei Xu said:
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.
The researcher is till not applicable and need to be redesigned before it can be applied to humans, however, these cells have many significance, such as healing of injuries and in cosmetics, in the future. At present researchers could artificially grow the cells that account for hair follicles, but refurbishing human skin cells is still a challenge.
Dr Xu further said:
When a person loses hair, they lose both types of cells. ‘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 in depth research is required in order to generate human skin cells and to revise the treatment as per the humans.
Source: Mail Online
