Hair Cloning News

Bookmark this page for news and updates on hair cloning and hair multiplication techniques, research, and other developments.

We have previously discussed Dr. Angela Christiano’s work on hair loss genetics with her team at Columbia University in New York. A review of the 16th annual meeting of the European Hair Research Society brings to our attention new research being conducted by a scientist who works at Dr. Christiano’s laboratory, Dr. Claire Higgins.

Dr. Higgins is studying the inductive properties of the dermal papilla (DP), which is a group of cells that forms the structure directly below each hair follicle.

Japanese researchers have demonstrated that scientists can bioengineer viable, hair-producing follicles from epithelial stem cells and dermal papilla cells. Using these components, the team produced follicles that exhibit both the normal hair cycle and piloerection (the reflex contraction of a tiny muscle in the hair follicles which creates what is commonly referred to as “goose bumps”). The bioengineered follicles also developed the normal structures found within follicles and formed natural connections with skin tissues, muscle cells, and nerve cells.

RepliCel Life Sciences; a company out of Vancouver, Canada; is studying the use of hair cloning techniques to treat male pattern baldness and hair loss in women.

The study is in progress, but analysis of the 6-month interim results of the first phases have been published. As indicated in the graphic above, the preliminary results at 6 months show that vellus hair density has increased 24.9%, terminal hair density has increased 14.5%, overall hair density increased by 19.2%, and cumulative thickness per area increased by 15.4%.

Also, almost two-thirds of subjects (10 subjects out of 16, or 63%) received a greater than 5% increase in hair density at the injection site. Of that group of 10 subjects, 7 of them saw hair density improve by more than 10%, with the biggest improvement in hair density being an increase of 19.6% in one subject.

RepliCel Life Sciences; a company based in Vancouver, Canada; is investigating hair cloning techniques in order to develop a treatment for androgenetic alopecia, or common genetic hair loss.

Research conducted by the company’s scientific founders and lead scientists, Drs. Kevin McElwee and Rolf Hoffmann, has shown that a certain type of cell, called a dermal sheath cup cell, is integral in initiating the growth of mature hair follicles. This mechanism of follicle growth, when coupled with previous research on dermal papillae cells, is key to our understanding of hair loss and is a potential avenue for developing a treatment that could reverse hair loss.

In what might be another illuminating discovery on the inner-workings of hair growth, Yale University scientists have discovered that cells from the fat layer in the skin of mice contribute to the stimulation of hair follicles.

Dr. Bernstein, who was interviewed for the ABC News article, called the findings, “An interesting development in understanding why millions of people go bald.” Read more by viewing the full post.

Following some new research on stem cells, and their relationship with androgenetic alopecia (genetic hair loss), an article on stem cells and the way they organize hair growth was published in the April 29th issue of the journal Science. At issue is the way in which large numbers of stem cells coordinate the cycle of hair growth over thousands of hair follicles. How do all of those hair follicle stem cells know when to grow hair, and how do they know what their “neighbor” hair follicles are doing? Read more by viewing the full post.

In the March/April 2011 issue of Hair Transplant Forum International we see a review of research on stem cells and progenitor cells, and another indication of the importance of this research in achieving the goal of being able to clone human hair. Read more about this exciting line of research.

Hair cloning is one of the most hotly discussed topics in the field of hair transplantation today. “When will hair cloning become available?” and “How will it work?” are among the most frequently asked questions about treating hair loss that we receive at Bernstein Medical – Center for Hair Restoration.

New developments in regenerative medicine technology, presented at the 18th Annual Scientific Meeting of the International Society for Hair Restoration (ISHRS), may have opened the door to commercialization and medical use of new techniques which could provide an answer to both questions.

ACell, Inc., a company based in Columbia, Maryland, has developed and refined what they consider, “the next generation of regenerative medicine.”

For more information on this exciting development, view our page on ACell technology and hair cloning

Follow news and updates on our Hair Cloning News page.

Two new avenues of scientific research, discussed in an article in the New York Times, might just help enable human beings to regenerate tissue. If we could tap into this capability, the possibilities for medical treatment are limitless. We could regrow an arm, a leg, a hand, repair a heart after a heart attack, or even regrow hair.

It is not a stretch to assume that if scientists can undo the inability of animals to grow heart muscle or limbs, we might someday be able to genetically reverse the inability of a bald person to grow hair.

A new study, using hair cloning therapy to regrow hair, shows promise for all individuals suffering from the disease. The study — conducted by Marwa Fawzi, a dermatologist at the University of Cairo Faculty of Medicine, and reported on Bloomberg.com — used stem cells from the scalps of eight children with alopecia areata to regenerate their own hair.

Through this study, it was shown that the signaling pathways introduced by the administration of noggin and sonic hedgehog alone were insufficient to develop a hair follicle. When Laminin-511 protein was introduced to the tissue culture, the dermal papilla developed. When the protein was inhibited, hair follicle growth again ceased. This information supports prior studies suggesting that Laminin is critical in the early stages of follicle cell development and is required for continued follicle development and growth.

Follicular cell implantation (FCI) is based on the ability of the dermal papilla (DP) cells, found at the bottom of hair follicles, to stimulate new hairs to form. DP cells can be grown and multiplied in culture, so that a very small number of cells can produce enough follicles to cover an entire bald scalp.

In order to produce new follicles, two types of cells must be present. The first are Keratinocytes, the major cell type in the hair follicle, and the second are dermal papillae cells (DP) which lie in the upper part of the dermis, just below the hair follicle. It appears that the DP cells can induce the overlying keratinocytes to form hair follicles. There are a number of proposed techniques for hair regeneration that use combinations of cells that are implanted in the skin. The two major techniques involve either transplanting dermal papillae cells by themselves into the skin, or implanting them with keratinocytes.

A major advance in regenerative medicine has recently been announced. A new technique, which can convert adult skin cells into embryonic form, has been successfully performed on interbred mice by Dr. Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University. The technique, if adaptable to human cells could allow new heart, liver, or kidney cells to be regenerated from simple skin cells. This tissue could potentially replace organ tissue that has been damaged due to disease. As this tissue would be formed from the patient’s own skin cells, it would not be subject to rejection by the patient’s immune system.

The advantage of using embryonic stem cells in cloning research, organ transplantation, and in finding cures for disease, is that these cells are basically “unprogrammed.” This means that the stem cell has not yet determined what it will grow to become so, in theory at least, scientists can manipulate them into becoming anything that they are programmed to be.

Two teams of scientists working independently announced that they had successfully replicated the biological abilities of the embryonic stem cell using only skin cells.

This study demonstrates that after wounding the skin of an adult mouse, an embryonic-like change in the epidermal cells outside of the hair follicle stem cells can be induced to form new hair follicle stem cells. In other words, these cells originate from epidermal skin cells in the wound, but then are able take on the characteristics of hair follicle stem cells and actually produce hair.

The British Government has awarded Intercytex a grant to automate the production of their new hair regeneration therapy. Intercytex is a cell therapy company that develops products to restore and regenerate skin and hair. Intercytex has partnered with a private company, The Automation Partnership (TAP), to develop an automated manufacturing process for their novel hair multiplication treatment.

An English based company called Intercytex has claimed some success in its research on hair cloning with its first testing in humans. This technique is similar to the one initially proposed by Dr. Colin Jahoda and published in 1999.

The idea is that certain cells (called fibroblasts) found at the bottom of hair follicles can be separated from the follicles after they have been removed from the scalp, and then be used to form new follicles.

This study also demonstrated that the Hedgehog agonist is active in human scalp in vitro as measured by Hedgehog pathway gene expression. The results suggest that topical application of a Hedgehog agonist could be effective in treating hair loss conditions, including male and female pattern genetic hair loss.

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