Scientists use stem cells to ‘grow new hair’

Human pluripotent stem cells have been used to generate hair in a new study from the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute in the US.

According to the scientists behind the research, this breakthrough represents the first step towards the development of a cell-based treatment for people suffering from hair loss, which affects 40 million men and 21 million women in the US alone.

Associate professor Alexey Terskikh, from the Development, Aging, and Regeneration Program at Sanford-Burnham, explained that the technique involves using human pluripotent stem cells to create new cells that are able to initiate human hair growth.

He said that his team's method is a marked improvement over the techniques currently used, which typically rely on transplanting existing hair follicles from one part of the head to another.

"Our stem cell method provides an unlimited source of cells from the patient for transplantation and isn't limited by the availability of existing hair follicles," he added.

The researchers developed a protocol that transformed human pluripotent stem cells into dermal papilla cells, which regulate hair-follicle formation and the growth cycle.

Professor Terskikh said the next step for the team will be to transplant human dermal papilla cells derived from human pluripotent stem cells back into patients.