Renewal of Hair Follicles from Adult Multipotent Stem Cells . Kev's comments Renewal of Hair Follicles from Adult Multipotent Stem Cells . 25 January 2001 Stem cells able to reconstitute the skin, as well as hair follicles, were identified for the first time in an adult mammal by a French team of researchers.
Stem cells are premature cells that develop into various organs.
The most spectacular are found in embryos at their very earliest days of development. These results, so far only obtained using mice, open significant prospects in dermatology to replace the skin in badly burned persons or to combat skin cancer, and also represent a new hope for bald people. Humans have approximately five hair follicles per square centimeter of skin, against 50 for the mouse. These stem cell stocks, located close to the root of the hair, are able to give rise to all the lines of cells necessary to reconstitute the skin epidermis, sebaceous glands, and the hair follicles. These invaluable cells are mainly located in the hair follicle structure.