A scar repaired using transplanted hair follicles in a study at Imperial College London.imperial news

Imperial researchers have found that hair follicle transplantation can promote scar rejuvenation by altering the structure and genetic make-up of hair follicles.

and new research In a study involving three volunteers, skin scars began to behave like intact skin after being treated with hair follicle transplants.

Our findings lay the groundwork for exciting new treatments that can rejuvenate scars and restore healthy skin function. Dr. Claire Higgins Department of Biotechnology

It restores healthy patterns and even expresses genes found in healthy, intact skin.

This finding could lead to better treatments for scarring both on the skin and in the body, offering hope for patients with extensive scarring that can impair organ function and cause disability.

first author Dr. Claire Higginsimperial Department of Biotechnology, said: Our findings lay the groundwork for exciting new treatments that can rejuvenate scars and restore healthy skin function. ”

This research npj regenerative medicine.

hope in hair

scar tissue The skin has no hair, sweat glands, blood vessels, or nerves and is essential for regulating body temperature and sensing pain and other sensations. Scarring not only impairs movement, but can also cause discomfort and emotional distress.

In high-income countries alone, about 100 million people suffer from scarring each year. Our research opens new avenues for scar treatment and may even change approaches to scar prevention. Dr. Francisco Jimenez Meditechnia Clinic and University Fernando Pessoa Canarias

Compared to scar tissue, healthy skin undergoes constant remodeling by hair follicles. Hairy skin heals faster and scars less than hairless skin. Also, hair transplantation had previously been shown to aid wound healing. I hypothesized that there is.

To test their hypothesis, Imperial researchers collaborated Dr. Francisco Jimenezhead hair transplant surgeon Meditechnia Clinic Associate Professor Fernando Pessoa Canary University, Gran Canaria, Spain. They transplanted hair follicles into mature scars on the scalps of three of his participants in 2017. Researchers chose the most common type of scar called normotrophic scar, which usually forms after surgery.

They microscopically photographed 3-mm-thick scar biopsies immediately before and 2, 4, and 6 months after transplantation.

Researchers found that hair follicles drive structural and genetic changes in scars toward a healthy, undamaged skin profile.

Dr. Jimenez said: The global incidence of scarring is much higher and includes extensive scarring that forms after burns and trauma. Our work opens new avenues for treating scars and approaches to prevent scarring. You can even change the

skin architect

This further supports the use of treatments such as hair transplants that alter scar structure and gene expression to restore function. Dr. Claire Higgins Department of Biotechnology

After transplantation, the follicles continued to generate hair and induced recovery across skin layers.

Scarring causes the outermost layer of the skin, the epidermis, to become thinner and more prone to tearing. Six months after transplantation, the epidermis doubles in thickness and has increased cell proliferation, almost the same as intact skin. Now thick.

The next skin layer, the dermis, contains connective tissue, blood vessels, sweat glands, nerves, and hair follicles. Due to scar maturation, the dermis has fewer cells and blood vessels, but after transplantation, the number of cells doubled in 6 months, and the number of blood vessels reached almost the level of healthy skin in 4 months. . This indicates that the hair follicle influenced the growth of new cells and blood vessels within the scar.

Scars also increase the density of collagen fibers, the main structural protein in the skin, and align scar tissue so that it is stiffer than healthy tissue. It is now able to form a “basket weave” pattern, reducing stiffness, which is a major factor in tears and discomfort.

The authors also found that after transplantation, scars expressed 719 genes differently than before. There was more expression of genes that promote cell and blood vessel growth, and less expression of genes that promote the scar formation process.

multi-pronged approach

While this work has obvious uses in restoring people’s confidence, our approach goes beyond cosmetics, as scar tissue can cause problems in all organs. Dr. Claire Higgins Department of Biotechnology

The researchers do not know exactly how the transplant promoted such changes. They now uncover the underlying mechanisms so that treatments can be developed that remodel scar tissue toward healthy skin without the need for hair follicle transplantation or hair fiber growth. Next, we will investigate hairless skin or organs such as the heart, which can be scarred after a heart attack, or the liver, which can be scarred by fatty liver disease or cirrhosis. You can test the results.

“This research has obvious applications in restoring people’s confidence, but our approach goes beyond cosmetics because scar tissue can cause problems in all organs,” Higgins said. increase.

“While current treatments for growth factor-like scarring focus on a single factor of scarring, the hair follicle likely provides multiple growth factors at once to rebuild scar tissue. Therefore, our new approach addresses multiple aspects. This further supports the use of treatments like hair transplantation that alter scar structure and gene expression to restore function.”

“Anagen hair follicles transplanted into mature human scars remodel fibrous tissueBy Magdalena Plotczyk, Francisco Jimenez, Summit, Colin J. Boyle, Jesse Ovia, Benjamin D. Almquist, Claire A. Higgins. Published January 6, 2023 npj regenerative medicine.

This work, Medical Research Council When Science and Engineering Study Group (both parts Ukri).

image: gossip and others.npj regenerative medicine

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