FC-02   CULTURED PERI-BULBAR DERMAL SHEATH AND DERMAL PAPILLA CELLS INDUCE NEW HAIR FOLLICLES FROM MOUSE EPIDERMIS AND MODIFY THE HAIR GROWTH AND CYCLING PROPERTIES OF HAIR FOLLICLES PRESENT THROUGH NATURAL EMBRYOGENESIS

KJ McElwee, S. Kissling, E. Wenzel, A. Huth, R. Hoffmann. Dept. Dermatology, Philipp University, Marburg, Germany.

Mesenchyme derived dermal papilla (DP) cells control development, differentiation and cycling of hair follicles. These cells are highly differentiated and non-proliferative in vivo. Significant progress has been made in defining progenitor cells of the epidermal hair follicle component but the progenitor cell source for the DP is unknown. Transgenic GFP-expressing mouse, wild type, and non-transgenic mouse vibrissa follicle cells were cultured and implanted to CBySmn.CB17-Prkdcscid/J mouse ears. DP-derived cells and cells from the peribulbar dermal sheath "cup" (DSC) induced new hair follicles while non-bulbar dermal sheath (DS) cells did not. Confocal microscopy revealed that GFP-expressing DSC cells induced hair growth through the formation of a new DP, DSC and the lower hair follicle DS, whereas DP cells only capable of forming a DP. In addition to inducing entirely new hair follicles, DP and DSC cells also integrated with hair follicles already present through natural embryogenesis. Biochemically, DSC cells where characterized in vivo and in vitro by low alkaline phosphatase activity in contrast to high alkaline phosphatase expression in differentiated DP cells. Thus, transplanted autogeneic and allogeneic cells derived from adult vibrissa follicles were capable of inducing new hair follicles from mouse epidermal cells and modified the growth and cycling properties of hair follicles present through natural embryogenesis. We suggest that the functional capacity of cultured DSC cells to form DP and DS and induce hair follicle development is an indicator of their pluripotency. In principle, it may be possible to utilize cultured hair follicle mesenchyme cells as a treatment for androgenetic alopecia and other forms of hair loss.