We may be getting one step closer to finding a cure for baldness. We may be getting one step closer to finding a cure for baldness. Using stem cells from mice, scientists have managed to create skin in a lab, complete with hair follicles, for the first time. What you pay for and what you actually get when you take a train in UK and Europe They grew both the upper and lower layers, known as the epidermis and dermis respectively, marking the first time a skin model has been made so closely resembling natural hair than any previous treatment. The new skin model could also prove useful for testing drugs and reduce the practice of animal testing as well as shedding fresh light on hair growth. Stem cell therapy has been suggested as a possible future treatment for hair loss for years. Hair follicles grow radially out of spherical skin organoids, which contain concentric epidermal and dermal layers (central structure). (Picture: SWNS) Although various methods of generating skin tissue have already been developed their ability to imitate the real thing falls short. Skin consists of 20 or more cell types and these models only contain about five or six. Most notably none is capable of hair growth. Don’t be alarmed if you see people on the Tube with no trousers this weekend Professor Karl Koehler originally began using pluripotent stem cells – which can turn into any organ – to create tiny versions of the inner ear, known as ‘organoids’. But his team discovered they were generating skin cells in addition to inner ear tissue, so they decided to try to coax them into sprouting hair follicles. The research published in Cell Reports found a single skin ‘bud’ developed in culture can give rise to both the epidermis and dermis. This allows hair follicles to form the same way as they would in a mouse’s body. Skin consists of 20 or more cell types and these models only contain about five or six. (Picture: Getty Images) Prof Koehler, of Indiana University, said: ‘You can see the organoids with your naked eye. ‘It looks like a little ball of pocket lint that floats around in the culture medium. The skin develops as a spherical cyst and then the hair follicles grow outward in all directions – like dandelion seeds.’ The researchers were unable to identify exactly which types of hairs developed on the surface of the organoid. But they believe the skin grew a variety of hair follicle types similar to those present naturally on the coat of a mouse. The skin organoid itself consisted of three or four different types of dermal cells and four types of epidermal cells. This diverse combination more closely mimics mouse skin than previously developed skin tissues. By observing the development of this more lifelike skin organoid the researchers learned the two layers of skin cells must grow together in a specific way in order for hair follicles to develop. As the epidermis grew in the culture medium it began to take the rounded shape of a cyst. The dermal cells then wrapped themselves around these cysts. When this process was disrupted hair follicles never appeared. Prof Koehler said: ‘One thing we explored in the paper is if we destroy the organoids and try to put them back together they don’t always generate hair follicles. ‘So we think it’s very important the cells develop together at an early stage to properly form skin and hair follicles.’ After discovering this recipe for lab-grown hair follicles the researchers must now discover how hairs shed and regenerate. The shape of the tissue in culture causes the hair follicles to grow into the dermal cysts – leaving them with nowhere to shed. Once they figure out how to allow the hair follicles to complete their natural cycle from the artificial environment of the culture medium the organoids could have important implications for toxicology and medicine. Moreover Prof Koehler says the technique could be used as a blueprint to generate human skin organoids. He said: ‘It could be potentially a superior model for testing drugs – or looking at things like the development of skin cancers – within an environment that’s more representative of the in vivo microenvironment. ‘And it would allow us to limit the number of animals we use for research.’ The skin is the largest organ in the human body and covers around two metres square – accounting for 15% of body weight. Source
