Quorum sensing in hair population regeneration is shown. Credit: Cheng-Ming Chuong
If there's a cure for male pattern baldness, it might hurt a little. A team led by USC Stem Cell Principal Investigator Cheng-Ming Chuong has demonstrated that by plucking 200 hairs in a specific pattern and density, they can induce up to 1,200 replacement hairs to grow in a mouse. These results are published in the April 9 edition of the journal Cell.
"It is a good example of how basic research can lead to a work with potential translational value," said Chuong, who is a professor of pathology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. "The work leads to potential new targets for treating alopecia, a form of hair loss."
The study began a couple of years ago when first author and visiting scholar Chih-Chiang Chen arrived at USC from National Yang-Ming University and Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan. As a dermatologist, Chen knew that hair follicle injury affects its adjacent environment, and the Chuong lab had already established that this environment in turn can influence hair regeneration. Based on this combined knowledge, they reasoned that they might be able to use the environment to activate more follicles.
To test this concept, Chen devised an elegant strategy to pluck 200 hair follicles, one by one, in different configurations on the back of a mouse. When plucking the hairs in a low-density pattern from an area exceeding six millimeters in diameter, no hairs regenerated. However, higher-density plucking from circular areas with diameters between three and five millimeters triggered the regeneration of between 450 and 1,300 hairs, including ones outside of the plucked region.
Working with Arthur D. Lander from the University of California, Irvine, the team showed that this regenerative process relies on the principle of "quorum sensing," which defines how a system responds to stimuli that affect some, but not all members. In this case, quorum sensing underlies how the hair follicle system responds to the plucking of some, but not all hairs.
Through molecular analyses, the team showed that these plucked follicles signal distress by releasing inflammatory proteins, which recruit immune cells to rush to the site of the injury. These immune cells then secrete signaling molecules such as tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), which, at a certain concentration, communicate to both plucked and unplucked follicles that it's time to grow hair.
"The implication of the work is that parallel processes may also exist in the physiological or pathogenic processes of other organs, although they are not as easily observed as hair regeneration," said Chuong.
In addition to these latest findings, Science recently selected Chuong's work on how the regulation of feather follicle stem cells contributed to the evolution of feathered dinosaurs into modern birds as one of the top 10 breakthroughs of 2014. Chuong was also inducted as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in February 2015.
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Quorum sensing in hair population regeneration is shown. Credit: Cheng-Ming Chuong
If there's a cure for male pattern baldness, it might hurt a little. A team led by USC Stem Cell Principal Investigator Cheng-Ming Chuong has demonstrated that by plucking 200 hairs in a specific pattern and density, they can induce up to 1,200 replacement hairs to grow in a mouse. These results are published in the April 9 edition of the journal Cell.
"It is a good example of how basic research can lead to a work with potential translational value," said Chuong, who is a professor of pathology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. "The work leads to potential new targets for treating alopecia, a form of hair loss."
The study began a couple of years ago when first author and visiting scholar Chih-Chiang Chen arrived at USC from National Yang-Ming University and Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan. As a dermatologist, Chen knew that hair follicle injury affects its adjacent environment, and the Chuong lab had already established that this environment in turn can influence hair regeneration. Based on this combined knowledge, they reasoned that they might be able to use the environment to activate more follicles.
To test this concept, Chen devised an elegant strategy to pluck 200 hair follicles, one by one, in different configurations on the back of a mouse. When plucking the hairs in a low-density pattern from an area exceeding six millimeters in diameter, no hairs regenerated. However, higher-density plucking from circular areas with diameters between three and five millimeters triggered the regeneration of between 450 and 1,300 hairs, including ones outside of the plucked region.
Working with Arthur D. Lander from the University of California, Irvine, the team showed that this regenerative process relies on the principle of "quorum sensing," which defines how a system responds to stimuli that affect some, but not all members. In this case, quorum sensing underlies how the hair follicle system responds to the plucking of some, but not all hairs.
Through molecular analyses, the team showed that these plucked follicles signal distress by releasing inflammatory proteins, which recruit immune cells to rush to the site of the injury. These immune cells then secrete signaling molecules such as tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), which, at a certain concentration, communicate to both plucked and unplucked follicles that it's time to grow hair.
"The implication of the work is that parallel processes may also exist in the physiological or pathogenic processes of other organs, although they are not as easily observed as hair regeneration," said Chuong.
In addition to these latest findings, Science recently selected Chuong's work on how the regulation of feather follicle stem cells contributed to the evolution of feathered dinosaurs into modern birds as one of the top 10 breakthroughs of 2014. Chuong was also inducted as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in February 2015.
Explore further: Using stem cells to grow new hair
Medical Xpress on facebook
Related Stories
Cellular automaton model predicts how hair follicle stem cells regenerate
Your hair -- or lack of hair -- is the result of a lifelong tug-of-war between activators that wake up, and inhibitors that calm, stem cells in every hair follicle on your body, according to Cheng-Ming Chuong, M.D., Ph.D., ...
New study reveals surprising clues about communication in hair stem cell populations
In one of the first studies to look at the population behavior of a large pool of stem cells in thousands of hair follicles – as opposed to the stem cell of a single hair follicle – Keck School of Medicine of USC ...
Using stem cells to grow new hair
In a new study from Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham), researchers have used human pluripotent stem cells to generate new hair. The study represents the first step toward the development ...
Japan study raises hopes of cure for baldness
Japanese researchers have successfully grown hair on hairless mice by implanting follicles created from stem cells, they announced Wednesday, sparking new hopes of a cure for baldness.
Tiny hair follicle offers big clues about the life and death of stem cells
Inside the microscopic world of the mouse hair follicle, Yale Cancer Center researchers have discovered big clues about how stem cells regenerate and die. These findings, published April 6 in the journal ...
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Amniotic stem cells demonstrate healing potential
Rice University and Texas Children's Hospital scientists are using stem cells from amniotic fluid to promote the growth of robust, functional blood vessels in healing hydrogels.
Breast cancer research uncovers the fountain of youth
The Fountain of Youth has been discovered and it's not in Florida as Ponce de Leon claimed. Instead, it was found in the mammary glands of genetically modified mice.
Common drug is re-engineered to improve surgery outcomes
A Northwestern University research team potentially has found a safer way to keep blood vessels healthy during and after surgery.
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A cellular defect that can impair the body's ability to handle high glucose levels and could point the way to a potential new treatment for diabetes has been identified by Columbia University Medical Center ...
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