Human micro-hair follicle for predictive screening
CompanyNovember 2020
provio GmbH, Glienicke/Nordbahn, Germany
The present study evaluates a human microfollicle model (MF) for in vitro research into hair follicle development and for the optimization of cosmetic and preclinical substance tests. For this purpose, hair follicle organoids were generated, which were adapted to 96-well plates for assay applications. The organ cultures maintain their cellular complexity, which enables the analysis of cellular cross-talk within the follicle and a recapitulation of reactions to various extrinsic cytokines, growth factors and steroids. The researchers observed hair-specific keratin expression in the early and late stages of cultivation. Furthermore, the gene expression of MF was analyzed and compared with patient samples treated with the drug minoxidil due to hair thinning. The gene expression changes in the MF showed an overlap of up to 75% with the corresponding gene expression signature observed in the clinical trial. Based on the results, human hair follicle organoids can prove helpful in further researching the cellular mechanisms of hair development and improving therapeutic approaches for hereditary hair loss, for example. In addition, MF proves to be a practical assay tool for cosmetic or preclinical screenings.
The microfollicle: a model of the human hair follicle for in vitro studies
Gerd Lindner
Added on: 08-19-2022
[1] https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11626-020-00513-x
