Pay attention to the "big things"! Research reveals new ways to prevent male and female hair loss July 01, 2019 Source: Biological Exploration If the hair is the second face of a person, then the problem of hair loss and so on is definitely the best interpretation of "the years are to kill the knife." Scientists are also trying to solve the problem of "heads big things". Two recent studies on hair loss are worthy of attention. One is to use the small molecule inhibitor JAK to wake up the sleeping hair follicles, and the other is the 3D printing hair follicle factory. Cell Subsidiary: Research found that cells with hair follicles dormant A team led by Dr. Angela Christiano, professor of dermatology at the University of Columbia, Vagelos and the School of Surgery of the University of Columbia, discovered previously unknown cells that kept the mouse hair follicles at rest and inhibited the activity of these cells to re-awake the hair follicles. The results of the study were published in the journal Cell Stem Cell. In male and female baldness, many hair follicles still exist but are dormant. Therefore, new drug research is mostly focused on finding hair sacs and inducing hair growth. Two drugs (finasteride and minoxidil) have been used for baldness treatment, but it is only suitable for men. Christiano and her colleagues have previously discovered a new pathway called JAK-STAT that is active in resting stem cells and can keep hair follicles dormant. Previous studies have shown that application of JAK inhibitors to mouse skin can awaken mouse dormant hair follicles. In the latest study, the researchers wanted to obtain a detailed natural image process that puts the hair follicle in a dormant state. The key is to find the factors that control the activity of the JAK pathway in the hair follicle. New drug reawakens sleepy hair follicles The researchers discovered a new type of immune-related cell that produces a substance called "suppressor M" that puts the hair follicle in a dormant state. And through single-cell sequencing technology, researchers can accurately identify and pinpoint rare immune cell subsets throughout the skin tissue. These cells are most similar to macrophages, which are scavengers of the immune system, and the team found that they are closely related to resting hair follicles. The researchers named these cells trichophages. Therefore inhibiting trichophages is expected to restart the hair growth cycle. The researchers found that blocking the receptor Csf1R on Trsophages by using small molecule inhibitors and antibodies can inhibit the tumor suppressor M and restart the hair growth cycle. "Our previous studies have shown that targeting hair follicle stem cells with JAK inhibitors is a potential new therapeutic approach to the treatment of alopecia," Christiano said. "In this study, we showed that blocking JAK activation signals outside the hair follicles. Is another feasible means." It is worth noting that a biotechnology company recently published the results of a small-scale, phase 2 trial of localized use of JAK-STAT inhibitors for hair follicle activation based on these studies. Christiano said: "The new approach will bring new hope to men and women with hair loss because the pathway is independent of the androgen pathway. And when used topically, it avoids the side effects of finasteride and minoxidil. "" Nature Sub-Journal: 3D Printing Creates Patterned Hair Follicles This is the first time that humans do not need to implant the skin to achieve hair follicle formation in the culture dish. Many years ago scientists have realized the cultivation of small/rat hair in the laboratory by culturing cells taken from the base of existing hair follicles. Christiano said: "Mice cells can grow beautiful fur, but human cells are resistant to some unknown reasons and are not successful." To break this resistance of human hair cells, Christiano is committed to creating a 3D environment that mimics the growth of human hair cells. For the first time, the research team tried to create cells in hanging drops and implant them into mice. A miracle happened: some people's cells have new hair, and some don't. The relevant research results were published in the journal Nature Communications. In this new study, Christiano's team used the unique features of 3D printers to create a more natural microenvironment for hair follicle growth – a thin plastic mold that is only half a millimeter wide. "The thin technology was not possible with the previous technology, but it was achieved thanks to 3D printing technology," said Dr. Erbil Abaci, the lead author of the study. The researchers placed the hair follicle cells donated by the volunteers in the deep wells of the mold to grow them, and the top was the keratin-producing cells, giving a mixture of growth factors including JAK inhibitors. Three weeks later, human hair follicles appeared and began to make hair. Expand production - hair follicle factory Hair restoration surgery requires approximately 2,000 hair follicles (transplanted from the posterior brain to the forehead and top), and there are restrictions - men with stable hair loss and sufficient hair follicles. Although the methods in the latest study require optimization, the engineered hair follicles produced in this way provide an infinite new source of hair follicles for patients with surgically repaired hair follicles. Christiano said: "Imagine that we can build a hair follicle factory, order the design and then transplant it back to the patient's scalp. There are 30 million sparse women in the United States and young men with worrying hair lines. The success of this technology means The scalp transplant repair is no longer limited by the number of donor hairs. In addition, artificial hair follicles can also be used by the pharmaceutical industry to screen for new hair growth drugs. It was also said that the laboratory could not cultivate human hair follicles, so the high-throughput screening of new drugs has been blocked, and the two approved hair loss drugs were not treated with hair loss. The team hopes that through such a hair follicle factory, it can promote the screening of high-throughput drugs for hair loss prevention and find more ways to affect hair growth. 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Https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stem.2019.01.011 
Dr. Angela Christiano, image source: Columbia University 
Https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-07579-y