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Hair multiplication or hair cloning is a proposed technique to counter hair loss. The technology to clone hair is in its early stages, but multiple groups have demonstrated pieces of the technology at a small scale with a few in commercial development.
Scientists previously assumed that in the case of complete baldness, follicles are completely absent from the scalp, so they cannot be regenerated. However, it was discovered that the follicles are not entirely absent, as there are stem cells in the bald scalp from which the follicles naturally arise. The abnormal behavior of these follicles is suggested to be the result of progenitor cell deficiency in these areas. One recently discovered molecule (SCUBE3), may aid in activating these cells and regrowing hair. [1]
The basic idea of hair cloning is that healthy follicle cells or dermal papillae can be extracted from the subject from areas that are not bald and are not suffering hair loss. They can be multiplied (cloned) by various culturing methods [2] and the new cells can be injected back into the bald scalp, where they would produce healthy hair. In 2015, initial trials for human hair were successful in generating new follicles, [3] but the hairs grew in varying directions, giving an unnatural look. Scientists believe they may have solved this problem by using nearly microscopic 3D-printed shafts to assist follicles growing upward through the scalp. This technique however is still in the research phase and is not available for public or commercial use.
As of 2023, estimates for when there will be successful hair cloning for humans are around 2030-2035; recent advancements in stem cell research and follicle generation mean that balding may be solved in around 10 years.[ citation needed ]
One of the first companies to begin experimenting with hair cloning was Intercytex. Researchers at the company were convinced that their approach was the cure for baldness, and if the technology is fully developed, they can basically eliminate hair loss due to hereditary factors. This therapy would also eliminate the need for donor hair, as it can be simply grown from the patient's own cells. [4]
Intercytex tried to clone new hair follicles from the stem cells harvested from the back of the neck. They hoped that if they multiplied (cloned) the follicles and then implanted them back in the scalp in the bald areas they would be successful in regrowing the hair itself. They tested the method in their Phase II trials, which showed very promising results as two-thirds of the bald male patients were able to grow new hair after the treatment. [5]
The company was hoping to complete the research so they can make it available to the public, so they began Phase III trials. They estimated they would be able to finish the process in a few years. However, these tests did not show the expected progress. In 2008 Intercytex admitted that they failed in fully developing the hair cloning therapy and decided to discontinue all research. [6]
This was not solely the result of the failed tests, as the company's financial background also became unstable in 2008 and they had to implement several cost-cutting measures. [7] They laid off a great number of staff members and cut funding to the research projects such as hair cloning. In 2010 they went out of business. [8]
Another firm researching hair cloning was ARI (Aderans Research Institute), a Japanese company that operated in the US and was the greatest competitor of Intercytex in developing the therapy. The company worked on what they called the "Ji Gami" process, which involved the removal of a small strip of the scalp, which is broken down into individual follicular stem cells. After the extraction, these cells are cultured, multiplied, and injected back into the bald areas of the scalp. Scientists hoped that after implantation these cloned follicular cells would mature into full-grown hair.[ citation needed ]
During Phase II trials they found that the process was not suitable for multiplication but instead, it revitalized the follicles and successfully prevented future loss.[ citation needed ] The trials continued in 2012. Aderans decided to discontinue the funding of its hair multiplication research in July 2013. [9]
The first time scientists were able to grow artificial hair follicles from stem cells was in 2010. Scientists at the Berlin Technical University in Germany took animal cells and created follicles by using them. As a result, they produced follicles "thinner than normal", but they were confident they could develop the right method of cloning hair from human stem cells by 2011. They estimated that the therapy would be publicly available by 2015 as they were already preparing for the clinical trials. Scientists working on the project said if the treatment was finished, it would mean a cure for approximately 80 percent of those who suffer from hair loss. [10]
The university was working together with Intercytex and several other research teams, but they encountered several problems. One of them was that the multiplication process was not efficient enough. They were only able to clone one or two follicles from an extracted hair but for the process to be efficient this number should have been around 1000. There was no indication that researchers were able to overcome this obstacle. [11]
In 2012 scientists from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine published their own findings regarding hair cloning. [12] During their investigation, they found that non-bald and bald scalps have the same number of stem cells, but the progenitor cell number was significantly depleted in the case of the latter. Based on this, they concluded that it is not the absence of the stem cells that are responsible for hair loss but the unsuccessful activation of said cells. [13]
The researchers continued their investigation and are looking for a way to convert regular stem cells into progenitor cells, which could mean they may be able to activate the natural generation of hair on a previously bald scalp. [14] [15]
In late 2013, new results were published by a research team at Durham University which suggested progress. The scientists tried a new method for multiplying, cloning the original cells not in a 2D but in a 3D system. [16]
A team took healthy dermal papillae from hair transplants and dissected them, then cultured them in a petri dish. In 30 hours they were able to produce 3000 dermal papilla cells. The goal was to create dermal papillae that when injected would reprogram cells around it to produce healthy hair. They chose to try the method by injecting the cloned cells in foreskin samples to "challenge" the cells, as the cells in the foreskin normally don't grow hair. The human skin samples were grafted on rats. After six weeks the cloned papillae cells formed brand-new hair follicles which were able to grow hair.[ citation needed ]
These are early results and as it is a new approach to hair cloning, several more studies and tests have to be conducted before they can move on to human testing. They also encountered new problems, such as that some of the newly grown hair appeared without pigmentation.[ citation needed ]
Vancouver-based firm, RepliCel Life Sciences Inc. has been researching the replacement of hormone-compromised hair follicle cells.
In 2013, RepliCel created a partnership with cosmetics company Shiseido, giving Shiseido an exclusive license to use its RCH-01 technology in Japan, China, South Korea, Taiwan, and the ASEAN countries. [17] Shiseido trialed RepliCel's RCH-01 in Japan and received modest results. [18] In 2021, RepliCel initiated arbitration against Shiseido and terminated the company's license agreement. [19]
In October 2022, researchers from the Japan-based Yokohama National University successfully cloned fully-grown mouse hair follicles for the first time in history. [20] It may take 5-10 years for this technology to be tested successfully in humans.
In 2016, scientists in Japan announced they had successfully grown human skin in a lab. [21] The skin was created using induced pluripotent stem cells, and when implanted in a mouse, the skin grew hairs successfully. Dr. Takashi Tsuji has sought donations for the group's research. The group has also formed a partnership with Organ Technologies and Kyocera Corporation to commercially develop the research. [22] Organ Technologies secured funding from Kobayashi Pharmaceutical in late 2022 and was renamed to OrganTech in 2023. [23] [24] OrganTech hopes to transplant both regenerated hair follicle primordia and what they term "next-generation implants" into humans as soon as Q2 2024.
dNovo, a Silicon Valley–based company, was founded in 2018 and participated in the Y Combinator accelerator.[ citation needed ] The company has demonstrated its technology by growing a patch of human hair on a mouse. [25]
In September 2023, TrichoSeeds together with Rhoto Pharmaceutical was aiming to enter clinical trials in 2024. [26]
In July 2019, a researcher from San Diego-based Stemson Therapeutics, partnered with UCSD, successfully grew his own follicles on a mouse using iPSC-derived epithelial and dermal cell therapy. The hair grew straight and was aligned properly with a 3D-printed biodegradable shaft. The hairs were permanent and regenerated naturally. [27] Stemson intends to enter clinical trials in 2026. [28]
Epibiotech developed an autologous dermal papilla cell that was scheduled to enter clinical trials at the end of 2023. [29]
Human cloning is the creation of a genetically identical copy of a human. The term is generally used to refer to artificial human cloning, which is the reproduction of human cells and tissue. It does not refer to the natural conception and delivery of identical twins. The possibilities of human cloning have raised controversies. These ethical concerns have prompted several nations to pass laws regarding human cloning.
In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can change into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type of cell in a cell lineage. They are found in both embryonic and adult organisms, but they have slightly different properties in each. They are usually distinguished from progenitor cells, which cannot divide indefinitely, and precursor or blast cells, which are usually committed to differentiating into one cell type.
Leg hair is hair that grows on the legs of humans, generally appearing after the onset of puberty. For aesthetic reasons and for some sports, people shave, wax, epilate, or use hair removal creams to remove the hair from their legs: see leg shaving.
Hair loss, also known as alopecia or baldness, refers to a loss of hair from part of the head or body. Typically at least the head is involved. The severity of hair loss can vary from a small area to the entire body. Inflammation or scarring is not usually present. Hair loss in some people causes psychological distress.
The hair follicle is an organ found in mammalian skin. It resides in the dermal layer of the skin and is made up of 20 different cell types, each with distinct functions. The hair follicle regulates hair growth via a complex interaction between hormones, neuropeptides, and immune cells. This complex interaction induces the hair follicle to produce different types of hair as seen on different parts of the body. For example, terminal hairs grow on the scalp and lanugo hairs are seen covering the bodies of fetuses in the uterus and in some newborn babies. The process of hair growth occurs in distinct sequential stages: anagen is the active growth phase, catagen is the regression of the hair follicle phase, telogen is the resting stage, exogen is the active shedding of hair phase and kenogen is the phase between the empty hair follicle and the growth of new hair.
The dermis or corium is a layer of skin between the epidermis and subcutaneous tissues, that primarily consists of dense irregular connective tissue and cushions the body from stress and strain. It is divided into two layers, the superficial area adjacent to the epidermis called the papillary region and a deep thicker area known as the reticular dermis. The dermis is tightly connected to the epidermis through a basement membrane. Structural components of the dermis are collagen, elastic fibers, and extrafibrillar matrix. It also contains mechanoreceptors that provide the sense of touch and thermoreceptors that provide the sense of heat. In addition, hair follicles, sweat glands, sebaceous glands, apocrine glands, lymphatic vessels, nerves and blood vessels are present in the dermis. Those blood vessels provide nourishment and waste removal for both dermal and epidermal cells.
The management of hair loss, includes prevention and treatment of alopecia, baldness, and hair thinning, and regrowth of hair.
Regenerative medicine deals with the "process of replacing, engineering or regenerating human or animal cells, tissues or organs to restore or establish normal function". This field holds the promise of engineering damaged tissues and organs by stimulating the body's own repair mechanisms to functionally heal previously irreparable tissues or organs.
Hair transplantation is a surgical technique that removes hair follicles from one part of the body, called the 'donor site', to a bald or balding part of the body known as the 'recipient site'. The technique is primarily used to treat male pattern baldness. In this minimally invasive procedure, grafts containing hair follicles that are genetically resistant to balding are transplanted to the bald scalp.
Pattern hair loss is a hair loss condition that primarily affects the top and front of the scalp. In male-pattern hair loss (MPHL), the hair loss typically presents itself as either a receding front hairline, loss of hair on the crown and vertex of the scalp, or a combination of both. Female-pattern hair loss (FPHL) typically presents as a diffuse thinning of the hair across the entire scalp.
Robert Lanza is an American medical doctor and scientist, currently Head of Astellas Global Regenerative Medicine, and Chief Scientific Officer of the Astellas Institute for Regenerative Medicine. He is an Adjunct Professor at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.
Anthony Atala is an American bioengineer, urologist, and pediatric surgeon. He is the W.H. Boyce professor of urology, the founding director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, and the chair of the Department of Urology at Wake Forest School of Medicine in North Carolina. His work focuses on the science of regenerative medicine: "a practice that aims to refurbish diseased or damaged tissue using the body's own healthy cells".
Scarring hair loss, also known as cicatricial alopecia, is the loss of hair which is accompanied with scarring. This is in contrast to non scarring hair loss.
The growth of human hair occurs everywhere on the body except for the soles of the feet, the palms of the hands, the inside of the mouth, the lips, the backs of the ears, some external genital areas, the navel, and, apart from eyelashes, the eyelids. Hair is a stratified squamous keratinized epithelium made of multi-layered flat cells whose rope-like filaments provide structure and strength to the hair shaft. The protein called keratin makes up hair and stimulates hair growth. Hair follows a specific growth cycle with three distinct and concurrent phases: anagen, catagen, and telogen. Each phase has specific characteristics that determine the length of the hair.
A hair tattoo or scalp micropigmentation (SMP) is a non-surgical, superficial cosmetic tattoo that gives the illusion of a close buzz cut hairstyle on a bald head or density to a thinning crown. The procedure can also be used to conceal scars from hair transplantation and hide the visual impact of burns or scars on the head. Scalp micropigmentation can be performed on all ethnicities. This procedure does not involve local anesthesia during the procedure. In contrast to traditional tattoos, this treatment is superficial in that it penetrates the epidermal level of the skin, and ink is deposited in the upper dermal level of the skin in order to avoid macro impressions. The advantages of this procedure is that the hairline can be adjusted or touched up with relative ease.
Regeneration in humans is the regrowth of lost tissues or organs in response to injury. This is in contrast to wound healing, or partial regeneration, which involves closing up the injury site with some gradation of scar tissue. Some tissues such as skin, the vas deferens, and large organs including the liver can regrow quite readily, while others have been thought to have little or no capacity for regeneration following an injury.
RepliCel Life Sciences is a Canadian regenerative medicine company based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The company focuses on development of cell therapies using a patient's own cells. The company has treatment development activities targeting chronic tendon injuries which have failed to heal properly, and hair restoration. The company's expertise lies in isolation and exploitation of different cell populations found in the human hair follicle.
Cheng-Ming Chuong is a Taiwanese-American biomedical scientist.
Angela M. Christiano is a molecular geneticist in the field of dermatology. Her research focuses on genes involved in hair and skin growth, as well as treatments for hair loss and skin cancers. She is the Richard and Mildred Rhodebeck Professor of Dermatology and Professor of Genetics and Development at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.
Emi K. Nishimura is a Japanese biologist who is Professor of Ageing and Regeneration at the University of Tokyo. Her research considers the molecular mechanisms that underpin ageing. She was elected Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences in 2022.