pindakaas
14 maart 2004, 21:58
Stem cell tricks hint at baldness cures
18:00 14 March 04
NewScientist.com news service
Stem cells plucked from the follicles of mice can grow new hair when implanted into another animal. The work represents a dramatic step forward that is sure to stimulate new research into treatments for human baldness.
"This is what I've been shooting for over 14 years now," says George Cotsarelis of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia. "I'm just in nirvana ."
Cotsarelis' team relied on genetic tricks to mark the stem cells, which allowed the cells to be purified and also for the researchers to catalogue their patterns of gene activation.
Earlier in 2004, Elaine Fuchs' group at the Rockefeller University in New York City independently reported a different strategy to label the cells and probe their genetic secrets.
"Here you have two very talented groups taking different approaches and coming to similar conclusions," says Anthony Oro, a dermatology researcher at Stanford University in California. "That changes the field and gives us a lot of confidence in these results."
Probing the bulge
For years, biologists knew that the cells that give rise to hair and can heal skin wounds lie in an area of the follicle known as the bulge. But no one had devised a way to separate the cells from the surrounding tissue to characterise them further.
The two teams used different genetic tricks to mark the bulge stem cells by getting them to produce a green fluorescent protein (GFP) that the surrounding cells did not have. Standard cell sorting machines were then able to separate out the glowing cells from the others.
Cotsarelis and his colleagues then transplanted some of the cells onto new mice and showed that they produced hair and all its associated structures: follicles, epidermis and sebaceous glands.
After purifying a sufficient amount of these cells, both groups used gene chips to find which genes were switched on in the stem cells. For the first time, this provides a signature that researchers can use to identify the same cells in humans.
Tiny colourless hairs
It also suggests many new genes that might control hair production. Male pattern baldnesses, for example, results when follicles start producing tiny, colourless hairs that are nearly invisible.
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Weblinks
George Cotsarelis, University of Pennsylvania
Anthony Oro, Stanford University in California
Science
Nature Biotechnology
But the underlying cause for this switch from thick to thin hair production is not known. Cotsarelis says that with these cells in hand, it might eventually be possible to screen for drugs that will reverse this balding process.
Oro says the work could also yield insights into other diseases. These same stem cells are the suspected targets of the ultraviolet damage that triggers common forms of skin cancer.
"We've known where these cells are for a while, but now we finally have the prospect of getting our hands on a lot of them," he says.
Journal references: Cotsarelis paper, Nature Biotechnology (DOI: 10.1038/nbt950); Fuchs paper, Science, (vol 303, p 359)
18:00 14 March 04
NewScientist.com news service
Stem cells plucked from the follicles of mice can grow new hair when implanted into another animal. The work represents a dramatic step forward that is sure to stimulate new research into treatments for human baldness.
"This is what I've been shooting for over 14 years now," says George Cotsarelis of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia. "I'm just in nirvana ."
Cotsarelis' team relied on genetic tricks to mark the stem cells, which allowed the cells to be purified and also for the researchers to catalogue their patterns of gene activation.
Earlier in 2004, Elaine Fuchs' group at the Rockefeller University in New York City independently reported a different strategy to label the cells and probe their genetic secrets.
"Here you have two very talented groups taking different approaches and coming to similar conclusions," says Anthony Oro, a dermatology researcher at Stanford University in California. "That changes the field and gives us a lot of confidence in these results."
Probing the bulge
For years, biologists knew that the cells that give rise to hair and can heal skin wounds lie in an area of the follicle known as the bulge. But no one had devised a way to separate the cells from the surrounding tissue to characterise them further.
The two teams used different genetic tricks to mark the bulge stem cells by getting them to produce a green fluorescent protein (GFP) that the surrounding cells did not have. Standard cell sorting machines were then able to separate out the glowing cells from the others.
Cotsarelis and his colleagues then transplanted some of the cells onto new mice and showed that they produced hair and all its associated structures: follicles, epidermis and sebaceous glands.
After purifying a sufficient amount of these cells, both groups used gene chips to find which genes were switched on in the stem cells. For the first time, this provides a signature that researchers can use to identify the same cells in humans.
Tiny colourless hairs
It also suggests many new genes that might control hair production. Male pattern baldnesses, for example, results when follicles start producing tiny, colourless hairs that are nearly invisible.
Subscribe to New Scientist for more news and features
Related Stories
Sound-detecting hair cells grown in lab
27 October 2003
US demands trials of 'grow-your-own' facelifts
22 May 2003
Genetic modification alters hair colour
9 September 2002
For more related stories
search the print edition Archive
Weblinks
George Cotsarelis, University of Pennsylvania
Anthony Oro, Stanford University in California
Science
Nature Biotechnology
But the underlying cause for this switch from thick to thin hair production is not known. Cotsarelis says that with these cells in hand, it might eventually be possible to screen for drugs that will reverse this balding process.
Oro says the work could also yield insights into other diseases. These same stem cells are the suspected targets of the ultraviolet damage that triggers common forms of skin cancer.
"We've known where these cells are for a while, but now we finally have the prospect of getting our hands on a lot of them," he says.
Journal references: Cotsarelis paper, Nature Biotechnology (DOI: 10.1038/nbt950); Fuchs paper, Science, (vol 303, p 359)