Recent Advances in Hair Cloning

Article by HairlossTalk.com

Even men in the late stages of androgenetic alopecia with extensive baldness might
still benefit from this observation. Even in apparently bald skin, there are usually
tiny vellus hair follicles still present. It is possible these follicles still
retain a “memory” of what they once were and their old growth patterns
as terminal hair follicles. If so, it may be possible to implant cells such that
they integrate with the vellus hair follicles and produce a cosmetically acceptable
result even for extensively bald men and women. It remains to be seen whether
the perceived problems of follicle orientation and distribution identified in
scientific studies with rodents actually prove founded when transferred to the
bald human scalp. The process of androgenetic alopecia with gradual miniaturization
of hair follicles may actually be ideal for the hair cloning technique to work.

The Migrated might continute to Migrate...

Both studies reinforce the fact that the cultured dermal papilla cells, and also
lower dermal sheath cells, retain the characteristics of the donor hair follicle.
There has been some concern that the property of large hair follicle induction
that is transferred with the implanted cells would gradually dissipate over time.
Most recently, in the December 2003 issue of the Journal for Investigative Dermatology,
Dr Jahoda has expressed this fear in a commentary on both the above papers. The
observation by Paus et al, that cells can disperse from the dermal papilla at
the end of the hair cycle raise the question of whether the implanted cells of
hair cloning might eventually migrate away leading to a progressive redevelopment
of the alopecia. This is an important issue that remains to be resolved. Rodent
models have shown hair growth induced by hair cloning to last for at least 18
months with no significant change, but the naturally short life span of rats and
mice (around 2 years) means that scientists will not be able to claim induced
hair growth survival much beyond this time span. The answer to this question probably
won’t be elucidated until long term studies are conducted directly on humans.

Overall then, good progress is being made with hair cloning, but there is much
more work to be done before hair cloning can become a routine procedure that yields
consistent results in humans.

References:

Tobin DJ, Gunin A, Magerl M, Handijski B, Paus R.
Plasticity and cytokinetic dynamics of the hair follicle mesenchyme: implications
for hair growth control. J Invest Dermatol. 2003 Jun;120(6):895-904.

McElwee KJ, Kissling S, Wenzel E, Huth A, Hoffmann
R. Cultured peribulbar dermal sheath cells can induce hair follicle development
and contribute to the dermal sheath and dermal papilla. J Invest Dermatol. 2003
Dec;121(6):1267-75.

Jahoda CA. Cell Movement in the Hair Follicle Dermis
- More Than a Two-Way Street? J Invest Dermatol. 2003 Dec;121(6):IX-XI.


HLT

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