A procedure for the culture of hair follicles as functionally intact organoids

Abstract In fundamental studies of cellular differentiation and gene expression in relation to hair growth, there is a major need for a follicle culture system that would allow, for example, the transfection of hair cells with isolated keratin genes so that their tissue-specific expression can be investigated. Furthermore, such a culture system would be of enormous benefit for examining the effects of nutritional factors, hormones, and drugs known to alter hair growth as well as the biologic and molecular action of carcinogens in the development of epithelial neoplasms. Recently, there have been several attempts to develop follicle cultures, but with only partial success. 1,2 In our study, we used a collagen matrix so that isolated hair follicles could be maintained as threedimensional structures for relatively prolonged periods of time, thereby allowing analysis of the different facets mentioned above. The most definitive feature for evaluating maintenance of hair growth is the continued synthesis of hair-specific proteins.