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. ((McElwee KJ, Kissling S, Wenzel E, Huth A, Hoffmann R (2003) Cultured peribulbar dermal sheath cells can induce hair follicle development and contribute to the dermal sheath and dermal papilla. J Invest Dermatol 121: 1267–1275.)) 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 their 2003 study, “Cultured Peribulbar Dermal Sheath Cells Can Induce Hair Follicle Development and Contribute to the Dermal Sheath and Dermal Papilla,” the scientists found that the dermal sheath cup cells are the “reservoir” of stem cells that control both the hair growth cycle of a follicle and formation of new hair follicles.

These breakthrough findings led to RepliCel’s seeking patents for their proprietary process of isolating and preparing dermal sheath cup cells for the treatment of hair loss. Patents have been issued in Europe and Australia, and are currently pending in the US, Canada, and Japan.

In 2012, RepliCel is studying the safety and efficacy of hair regeneration from autologous dermal sheath cup cells. In the study, cells will be harvested from patients, replicated in a laboratory, and then injected into a balding area to determine if the treatment will stimulate the growth of new hair follicles in what was a bald area.

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