Induced pluripotent stem cells from human hair follicle keratinocytes as a potential source for in vitro hair follicle cloning

Abstract

BackgroundHuman hair follicles are important for the renewal of new hairs and their development. The generation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from hair follicles is easy due to its accessibility and availability. The pluripotent cells derived from hair follicles not only have a higher tendency to re-differentiate into hair follicles, but are also more suited for growth in hair scalp tissue microenvironment.MethodsIn this study, human hair follicular keratinocytes were used to generate iPSCs, which were then further differentiated in vitro into keratinocytes. The derived iPSCs were characterised by using immunofluorescence staining, flow cytometry, and reverse-transcription PCR to check for its pluripotency markers expression.ResultsThe iPSC clones expressed pluripotency markers such as TRA-1-60, TRA-1-81, SSEA4, OCT4, SOX2, NANOG, LEFTY, and GABRB. The well-formed three germ layers were observed during differentiation using iPSCs derived from hair follicles. The successful formation of keratioctyes from iPSCs was confirmed by the expression of cytokeratin 14 marker.DiscussionHair follicles represent a valuable keratinocytes source for in vitro hair cloning for use in treating hair balding or grafting in burn patients. Our significant findings in this report proved that hair follicles could be used to produce pluripotent stem cells and suggested that the genetic and micro-environmental elements of hair follicles might trigger higher and more efficient hair follicles re-differentiation.

Progress and Future Prospectives in Skin-on-Chip Development with Emphasis on the use of Different Cell Types and Technical Challenges

“…More research is needed to look into the differentiation of iPSC towards skin specific Langerhans cells. Hair follicle cells (dermal papilla and keratinocytes [ 63 , 64 ]) are used to generate iPSC but the generation of hair follicle cells from iPSC is less described. To our knowledge no reports exist which describe the generation of dermal papilla cells from iPSC.…”

Harnessing the Power of Regenerative Therapy for Vitiligo and Alopecia Areata

“…In adults with progressive vitiligo, tofacitinib and ruxolitinib have shown successful repigmentation (Harris et al, 2016;Lim et al, 2016;Mackay-Wiggan et al, 2016), with regression of retained pigmented areas after treatment in one study (Harris et al, 2016). Treatment of vitiligo with JAK inhibitors appears to be enhanced by UV exposure, supporting a model wherein JAK inhibitors suppress T-cell mediators of vitiligo, and UV exposure is necessary for stimulation of melanocyte regeneration (Liu et al, 2017).…”

Organs-on-a-Chip: A Fast Track for Engineered Human Tissues in Drug Development

“…Recent efforts to use iPS cells have revealed results similar to those of primary cells (Petrova et al, 2014), and are aimed at including all relevant cell types (e.g., melanocytes, (Gledhill et al, 2015). However, methods to derive all skin cells from iPS cells are not yet established, with the ability to derive dermal papilla cells needed for hair generation notably absent (Lim et al, 2016). Subcutaneous explants can be used, although they have limited availability, and both cultures of explants and in vitro skin OOCs show benefit from the incorporation of perfusion (Atac et al, 2013, Abaci et al, 2015).…”