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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.
A scar is an area of fibrous tissue that replaces normal skin after an injury. Scars result from the biological process of wound repair in the skin, as well as in other organs, and tissues of the body. Thus, scarring is a natural part of the healing process. With the exception of very minor lesions, every wound results in some degree of scarring. An exception to this are animals with complete regeneration, which regrow tissue without scar formation.
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.
Cell therapy is a therapy in which viable cells are injected, grafted or implanted into a patient in order to effectuate a medicinal effect, for example, by transplanting T-cells capable of fighting cancer cells via cell-mediated immunity in the course of immunotherapy, or grafting stem cells to regenerate diseased tissues.
Adult stem cells are undifferentiated cells, found throughout the body after development, that multiply by cell division to replenish dying cells and regenerate damaged tissues. Also known as somatic stem cells, they can be found in juvenile, adult animals, and humans, unlike embryonic stem cells.
Stem-cell therapy uses stem cells to treat or prevent a disease or condition. As of 2024, the only FDA-approved therapy using stem cells is hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. This usually takes the form of a bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cell transplantation, but the cells can also be derived from umbilical cord blood. Research is underway to develop various sources for stem cells as well as to apply stem-cell treatments for neurodegenerative diseases and conditions such as diabetes and heart disease.
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.
Nestin is a protein that in humans is encoded by the NES gene.
Kinetic Concepts, Inc., (KCI) is a global corporation that produces medical technology related to wounds and wound healing. KCI produced the first product developed specifically for negative pressure wound therapy. In 2013, the company employed 5,000 people and marketed its products in more than 25 countries. Its headquarters is in San Antonio, Texas.
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 Centre for Regenerative Medicine (CRM) is a stem cell research centre at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, dedicated to the study and development of new regenerative treatments for human diseases. The centre forms part of the university's Institute for Regeneration and Repair and is part of the BioQuarter cluster at Little France.
Hair multiplication, or hair cloning, is a proposed technique to counter hair loss. The technology is in its early stages, but multiple groups have demonstrated pieces of the technology at a small scale, with a few in commercial development.
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.
Valerie Horsley is an American cell and developmental biologist. She currently works as an associate professor at Yale University, where she has extensively researched the growth, restoration, and maintenance of skin cells. She is a currently a member of the Yale Cancer Center and Yale Stem Cell Center. She received a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers in 2012 and in 2013 she was the recipient of the Rosalind Franklin Young Investigator Award.
The stem cell secretome is a collective term for the paracrine soluble factors produced by stem cells and utilized for their inter-cell communication. In addition to inter-cell communication, the paracrine factors are also responsible for tissue development, homeostasis and (re-)generation. The stem cell secretome consists of extracellular vesicles, specifically exosomes, microvesicles, membrane particles, peptides and small proteins (cytokines). The paracrine activity of stem cells, i.e. the stem cell secretome, has been found to be the predominant mechanism by which stem cell-based therapies mediate their effects in degenerative, auto-immune and/or inflammatory diseases. Though not only stem cells possess a secretome which influences their cellular environment, their secretome currently appears to be the most relevant for therapeutic use.
Valentina Greco is an Italian-born biologist who teaches at the Yale School of Medicine as the Carolyn Walch Slayman Professor of Genetics and is an Associate Professor in the Cell Biology and Dermatology departments. Her research focuses on the role of skin stem cells in tissue regeneration.
bluebird bio, Inc., based in Somerville, Massachusetts, is a biotechnology company that develops gene therapies for severe genetic disorders.
Cheng-Ming Chuong is a Taiwanese-American biomedical scientist.
CRISPR Therapeutics AG is a Swiss–American biotechnology company headquartered in Zug, Switzerland. It was one of the first companies formed to utilize the CRISPR gene editing platform to develop medicines for the treatment of various rare and common diseases. The company has approximately 500 employees and has offices in Zug, Switzerland, Boston, Massachusetts, San Francisco, California and London, United Kingdom. Its manufacturing facility in Framingham, Massachusetts won the Facilities of the Year Award (FOYA) award in 2022. The company’s lead program, exagamglogene autotemcel, or exa-cel, was granted regulatory approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in December 2023.
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 Dutton, Gail (15 April 2015). "Cell Therapy Is "Hair Raising" in a Good Way". Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News . 35 (8): 8–9. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
- 1 2 3 Ellis, Erin (30 October 2013). "A cure for baldness? Stem cell researchers race to regenerate follicles from hair resistant to loss". National Post . Toronto. Retrieved 2016-07-15.
- ↑ Ilic, Dusko (September 2013). "Industry Update: Latest developments in stem cell research and regenerative medicine". Regenerative Medicine . 8 (5). RepliCel. doi: 10.2217/rme.13.56 .
