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A major breakthrough came in the early 2000s when Japanese researchers found a simple formula to transform any tissue into powerful stem cells similar to those in an embryo. His imagination went wild. Scientists realized that they could generate unlimited resources from almost any type of cell, such as nerves or heart muscle.
In practice, however, the formula for generating certain cell types can be difficult, and then the problem arises of getting the lab-grown cells back into the body. So far, there have been only a few demonstrations of reprogramming as a method for treating patients. Researchers in Japan tried transplanting retinal cells to blind people. Then, last November, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, a US company, said so. may have cured a man’s Type 1 diabetes insulin responsive after infusion of programmed beta cells.
The concept followed by the beginners is to collect ordinary cells from patients, for example from the skin, and then transform them into hair-forming cells. In addition to dNovo, a company called Stemson (its name is a portmanteau of stem cells and Samson) has raised $22.5 million, including pharmaceutical company AbbVie. Co-founder and CEO Geoff Hamilton said his company has transplanted reprogrammed cells into the skin of mice and pigs to test the technology.
Both Hamilton and Lujan consider it an important market. About half of men experience male pattern baldness, with some starting in their 20s. When women lose their hair, it’s usually more of a general thinning, but no less of a blow to a person’s self-image.
These companies bring high-tech biology to an industry known for illusions. There are many false claims about both hair loss drugs and the potential of stem cells. “You have to be aware of scam offers,” said Paul Knoepfler, a stem cell biologist at UC Davis. wrote in November.
JIYOON LEE AND KARL KÖHLER, HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL
hard work
So will stem cell technology cure baldness or will it be the next false hope? Stemson founder Hamilton has been invited to deliver this year’s keynote address. Global Hair Loss Summit, and says the company is trying to emphasize that it still has plenty of head of research. “We’ve seen a lot [people] Come and tell me you have a solution. This has been a lot in the hair and so I have to address that,” says Hamilton. “We’re trying to project to the world that we are real scientists and that it’s too risky to guarantee it will work.”
Currently, there are some drugs approved for hair loss, such as Propecia and Rogaine, but their use is limited. Another procedure involves a surgeon cutting away strips of skin that a person still has hair and transplanting those follicles into a bald spot. Lujan says that in the future, lab-grown hair-forming cells could be added to a person’s head with a similar surgery.
“I think people will go pretty far to get their hair back. But at first it will be a bespoke process and very costly,” says Karl Koehler, a professor at Harvard University.
Hair follicles are surprisingly complex organs that arise through molecular mixing between various cell types. And Koehler says pictures of mice growing human hair aren’t new. “Every time you see these images, there’s always a trick and a downside to translating to people,” says Koehler.
Koehler’s lab grows hairs in a completely different way by growing organoids. Organoids are small self-organizing blocks of cells in a petri dish. Koehler says he was initially working on deafness treatments and wanted to grow hair-like cells in the inner ear. But his organoids became skin along with the hair follicles.
Koehler embraced the accident and now creates spherical skin organoids about two millimeters in diameter that grow and expand considerably over the course of about 150 days. Tube-like hair follicles are clearly visible and, he says, the equivalent of shaggy hair covering a fetus.
One surprise is that the organoids grow backwards with the hairs pointing inward. “While it’s a big question why they grow from the inside out, you can see beautified architecture,” says Koehler.
The Harvard lab uses reprogrammed cells from a 30-year-old Japanese man. But he’s looking at cells from other donors to see if the organoids could lead to hair of different colors and textures. “There’s definitely demand for this,” says Koehler. “Cosmetic companies are interested. Their eyes glow when they see the organoids.”
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