Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2020. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Stem Cells. Jun 26, 2020; 12(6): 462-470
Published online Jun 26, 2020. doi: 10.4252/wjsc.v12.i6.462
Human hair follicle-derived mesenchymal stem cells: Isolation, expansion, and differentiation
Bo Wang, Xiao-Mei Liu, Zi-Nan Liu, Yuan Wang, Xing Han, Ao-Bo Lian, Ying Mu, Ming-Hua Jin, Jin-Yu Liu
Bo Wang, Xiao-Mei Liu, Zi-Nan Liu, Yuan Wang, Xing Han, Ao-Bo Lian, Ming-Hua Jin, Jin-Yu Liu, Department of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, Jilin Province, China
Ying Mu, Research Center for Analytical Instrumentation, Institute of Cyber-Systems and Control, State Key Laboratory of Industrial Control Technology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310000, Zhejiang Province, China
Author contributions: Wang B wrote the paper; Liu XM and Liu JY revised the manuscript; Liu ZN, Wang Y, Han X, Lian AB, Mu Y, and Jin MH collected the data.
Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 81573067; the Joint Construction Project between Jilin Province and Provincial Colleges, No. SXGJQY2017-12; the Jilin Province Science and Technology Development Plan, No. 20190304044YY; the Innovative Special Industry Fund Project in Jilin Province, No. 2018C049-2; and the Open Research Project of the State Key Laboratory of Industrial Control Technology, Zhejiang University, China, No. ICT1800381.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Liu JY reports grants from the China National Natural Science Foundation, grants from the Joint Construction Project between Jilin Province and Provincial Colleges, grants from the Jilin Province Science and Technology Development Plan, grants from the Innovative Special Industry Fund Project in Jilin Province, grants from the Open Research Project of the State Key Laboratory of Industrial Control Technology, Zhejiang University, China, during the conduct of the study.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Jin-Yu Liu, PhD, Dean, Professor, Department of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Jilin University, 1163 Xinmin Avenue, Changchun 130021, Jilin Province, China. jy_liu@jlu.edu.cn
Received: February 27, 2020
Peer-review started: February 27, 2020
First decision: May 5, 2020
Revised: May 18, 2020
Accepted: May 29, 2020
Article in press: May 29, 2020
Published online: June 26, 2020
Processing time: 118 Days and 19 Hours
Abstract

Hair follicles are easily accessible skin appendages that protect against cold and potential injuries. Hair follicles contain various pools of stem cells, such as epithelial, melanocyte, and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) that continuously self-renew, differentiate, regulate hair growth, and maintain skin homeostasis. Recently, MSCs derived from the dermal papilla or dermal sheath of the human hair follicle have received attention because of their accessibility and broad differentiation potential. In this review, we describe the applications of human hair follicle-derived MSCs (hHF-MSCs) in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. We have described protocols for isolating hHF-MSCs from human hair follicles and their culture condition in detail. We also summarize strategies for maintaining hHF-MSCs in a highly proliferative but undifferentiated state after repeated in vitro passages, including supplementation of growth factors, 3D suspension culture technology, and 3D aggregates of MSCs. In addition, we report the potential of hHF-MSCs in obtaining induced smooth muscle cells and tissue-engineered blood vessels, regenerated hair follicles, induced red blood cells, and induced pluripotent stem cells. In summary, the abundance, convenient accessibility, and broad differentiation potential make hHF-MSCs an ideal seed cell source of regenerative medical and cell therapy.

Keywords: Human hair follicle; Regenerative therapy; Mesenchymal stem cell; Tissue engineering; Cell differentiation

Core tip: In this review, we describe the applications of human hair follicle-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hHF-MSCs) in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. We describe protocols for isolating hHF-MSCs from human hair follicles and their culture condition in detail. We also summarize strategies for maintaining hHF-MSCs in a highly proliferative but undifferentiated state after repeated in vitro passages, including supplementation of growth factors, 3D suspension culture technology, and 3D aggregates of MSCs. In addition, we report the potential of hHF-MSCs in obtaining induced smooth muscle cells and tissue-engineered blood vessels, regenerated hair follicles, induced red blood cells, and induced pluripotent stem cells.