Yokohama National University succeeded in artificially creating hair outside the body - Alopecia treatment etc. expected

Recently NHK News on-line reported the following:

体外で人工的に髪の毛作成に成功 脱毛症治療など期待 横浜国大

2022年10月22日 5時34分

体の外で人工的に髪の毛を作り出すことに、マウスの実験で成功したと、横浜国立大学の研究グループが発表しました。毛をマウスに移植すると、定着して生えかわるのも確認できたということで、脱毛症などの治療につながるのではないかと期待されています。

研究は横浜国立大学の福田淳二教授らのグループが行い、アメリカの科学雑誌「サイエンス・アドバンシズ」に発表しました。

グループは、マウスの胎児の皮膚から表面の部分になる細胞と、体の組織を支える部分になる細胞を取り出し、これらの細胞をつなぐ役割を担うたんぱく質などを低い濃度で混ぜて培養しました。

すると2日後には、表面になる細胞を支える部分になる細胞が囲むようになり、培養を始めてから10日後には「毛包」と呼ばれる髪の毛を作り出す部分を含んだ毛が生えてきたということです。

さらに、5ミリほどにまで伸びた毛をマウスの皮膚に移植すると定着し、その後、いったん抜けたものの、3週間ほどたつと新たな毛に生えかわったということです。

毛包を含む一定の長さがある毛を、ほぼ100％の精度で人工的に作ることに成功したのは初めてだということで、脱毛症の治療法の開発につながるのではないかとしています。

福田教授は「植毛のように移植できるので、人の細胞で作ることができたら画期的な治療法になる。髪の毛ができる様子も再現でき、白髪が生えるメカニズムの解明にも応用できる」と話しています。

Translation

A research group at Yokohama National University announced that it had succeeded in experimenting with mice to artificially create hair outside the body. When the hair was transplanted to the mouse, it was confirmed that it took root and regrew, so it was expected that it could lead to the treatment of alopecia and the like.

The research was conducted by a group led by Professor Junji Fukuda (福田淳二)of Yokohama National University and published in the American science magazine "Science Advances".

The group extracted the cells that would become the superficial part of the fetal, and the cells that supported body tissues were mixed with a low concentration of protein that related to these cells, and they were then cultured.

By doing this, two days later, the cells that support the cells on the surface start to surround, and 10 days after the start of the culturing, hair containing the part that produced the hair known as "hair follicle" grew.

Furthermore, when the hair that had grown to about 5 mm was transplanted to the skin of the mouse it took hold, and although it fell out once, it was replaced by new hair after about 3 weeks.

This would be the first time that artificial hair of a certain length was created successfully, including hair follicles, with almost 100% accuracy, and it was believed that this would lead to the development of a treatment for alopecia.

Professor Fukuda said, "Since it can be transplanted like hair transplantation, if we can create it with human cells, it will be an epoch-making treatment. We can reproduce how hair grows, and it can also be used to clarify the mechanism of gray hair growth."

 So, Yokohama National University has succeeded in experimenting with mice to artificially create hair outside the body, and that will eventually lead to the treatment of alopecia etc. This is good news for many people with hair problems.