Tsuji-lab (Team Tokyo)

[Sogeking]

So it is time to discuss Team Tokyo in a special thread. Some of this has been taken from hairsite, but all the neccessary information can be found on the links I provided.



http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0418095011.htm

Of particular note is this:

Reporting in Nature Communications the group demonstrate that bioengineered hair follicle germ reconstructed from adult epithelial stem cells and dermal papilla cells can regenerate fully functional hair follicle and hair growth. Their bioengineered follicles showed restored hair cycles and piloerection through the rearrangement of follicular stem cells and their niches. The bioengineered hair follicle also developed the correct structures and formed proper connections with surrounding host tissues such as the epidermis, arrector pili muscle and nerve fibers.

The bold part actually shows us the ability of stem cells which can grow hair on their own when transplanetd. There was no need to transplant surrounding tissue, and this is great. The new hair follicels managed to connect with arrector pili muscle, epidermis and even nerve fibers!

Also note that the hair follicels used had dermal papilla cells which are being used by Aderans. However, DP cells had the help from adult epithelial stem cells. I believe this is the reason why Replicel had such bad results. Dermal sheath cup cells need the help, something to guide them to connect to the surrounding tisue (epidermis, nerve fibbers, arrector pili muscle).

Now nerve fibers themselves are of importance in hair growth. The following excerpt has been taken from: Stress and the Hair Follicle: Exploring the
Connections, Vladimir A. Botchkarev, found at:
http://www.forhair.com/pdfs/stressAndHairLoss.pdf

The hair follicle bulge region contains a population of putative hair follicle stem cells. A close localization of sensory and autonomic nerve fibers and hair follicle bulge raises a possibility that neuropeptides and neurotransmitters may influence stem cells or their progeny and modulate hair cycle. Indeed, bulge keratinocytes show expression of
2-adrenoreceptors and neurokinin-1 receptor (Botchkarev et al, unpublished observations). Treatment of telogen mice by substance P or by noradrenaline- depleting agents lead to stimulation of hair growth, whereas substance P administration into anagen skin results in premature catagen development. Recent data suggest that denervation of murine skin leads to down-regulation of expression of hair keratin genes. Taken together, these data suggest that neurohormones, neuropeptides, and neurotransmitters may significantly influence cyclic activity of the hair follicle further supporting the hypothesis that hair follicles represent an important target for stressors.

As we can see regardless of stress, nerve fibers also play a role together with arrector pili muscle and epidermis and other tissues. Now it seems to me that what Replicel and Aderans are missing in all of these is adult epithelial stem cells. Which can be isolated.
It is viable: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21490579.
Ofcourse the question is which adult stem cells, and then how to combine them with DP or DSC cells. Although I am cheering for DP cells.

I am a layman and I might be wrong at some things, but this is how I understood it.

In the end some bad news : so far no human trials have been announced.
But atleast it shows us that Dermal papilla cells might work, and those rumors of moderate growth from Aderans seem more plausible now.

If anyone has any news or more detailed information please post. Ofcourse I welcome all opinions and criticism.

EDIT: Also note that when I am talking about Aderans and Replicel I am saying of somehow combining the adult epithelial stem cells with dermal papilla cells, but the researchers at Tsuji-lab have actually bioengineered a hair follicle which is different and I believe more complex, and Aderans and Replicel can't do that yet, however just combining the above mentioned cells might be benefical for regrowth.

[BaldinLikeBaldwin]

good thread

[gmonasco]

http://www.tsuji-lab.com/en/topics/news/2012_05.html

We would like to thank the many people who have expressed interest in our studies on the development of future organ replacement therapy. Our recent study on a functional hair follicle regenerative therapy published in Nature Communications has been picked up by many news media worldwide. We are also grateful for the many people who expressed interest in our study and sent messages to our laboratory.

Our philosophy is technological development that leads to the creation of innovative medical treatment, especially organ replacement regenerative therapy. In the research on hair regenerative therapy, our research stage is now in animal models, but not human, and we are making efforts to develop clinical studies and applications in the future. We are grateful to receive many applications from volunteers for hair regenerative therapy using our developed technology. However, our study is not at the clinical study stage in humans at present. If clinical studies for the hair regenerative therapy are planned, we will announce that on our homepage.

[Sogeking]

Thanks gmonasco. If this could be proven to work on humans. Well, I don't need to tell you any more, basically this is it. The only thing left is to conclude if this new bioengineered follicles are DHT resistant.
However this kind of research from smaller less funded labs usually takes years to get to human based studies and clinical trials. But this atleast has increased my hope in Aderans.

And if Replicel, Histogen or Aderans could make the hair follicels DHT resistant, well then...

[Highlander]

Originally Posted by gmonasco

http://www.tsuji-lab.com/en/topics/news/2012_05.html

We would like to thank the many people who have expressed interest in our studies on the development of future organ replacement therapy. Our recent study on a functional hair follicle regenerative therapy published in Nature Communications has been picked up by many news media worldwide. We are also grateful for the many people who expressed interest in our study and sent messages to our laboratory.

Our philosophy is technological development that leads to the creation of innovative medical treatment, especially organ replacement regenerative therapy. In the research on hair regenerative therapy, our research stage is now in animal models, but not human, and we are making efforts to develop clinical studies and applications in the future. We are grateful to receive many applications from volunteers for hair regenerative therapy using our developed technology. However, our study is not at the clinical study stage in humans at present. If clinical studies for the hair regenerative therapy are planned, we will announce that on our homepage.

Nice work taking that article and re-writing it a bit better. I like that they say they are in fact working towards growing hair - that this isn't just another "Well we grew it on a mouse for fun, but that is it sorry".

[Maradona]

Originally Posted by Sogeking

Thanks gmonasco. If this could be proven to work on humans. Well, I don't need to tell you any more, basically this is it. The only thing left is to conclude if this new bioengineered follicles are DHT resistant.
However this kind of research from smaller less funded labs usually takes years to get to human based studies and clinical trials. But this atleast has increased my hope in Aderans.

And if Replicel, Histogen or Aderans could make the hair follicels DHT resistant, well then...

Are you serious?

[ccmethinning]

This is pretty much the cure for all norwood levels of all decades of loss. It will be expensive (tens of thousands of USD) and time consuming, but it will work.

Money and resources need to get behind this NOW and maybe you can see this commercialized in 10 years.

[Maradona]

Originally Posted by ccmethinning

This is pretty much the cure for all norwood levels of all decades of loss. It will be expensive (tens of thousands of USD) and time consuming, but it will work.

Money and resources need to get behind this NOW and maybe you can see this commercialized in 10 years.

If anybody here says negative things about this research, then these idiots should not be allowed to discuss these approaches to hair cloning.

What I find utterly interesting is that ARI claimed to be doing the exact same approach meaning gathering cells from different parts of the follicles and injecting them in mice. They also grew hair like this in mice when mice cells were used and claimed that they needed more time to study the reason why they weren't able to grow the same hair when using the cells from a human on the very same mice.

Let me quote this part:

"The scientists, from the Tokyo University of Science, took two types of skin stem cell, which together contain all the instructions for a hair follicle and grew them in the lab, until they formed immature follicles.
These were then implanted in on the backs of hairless mice and, within two to three weeks, they sprouted hairs. The technique was also used to grow whiskers.
Excitingly, the mice also grew tufts of hair when human stem cells, gleaned from the scalp of a balding man were used, the journal Nature Communications reports.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2131117/He-pretty-look-does-bristly-mouse-hold-secret-cure-baldness.html#ixzz20ITaPihp"

As you can seem, these japanese guys have obviously cracked the problems that ARI has had and that Replicel will have in their phase 2.


What I would suggest or in fact what I think is going to happen is the fact that ARI must be contacting this research group.

If a agreement is reached between them, then my balding friends we will see the cure of hairloss in less than 5 years.

However, I am starting to believe what Dr. Cole has said about ARI now that we have these details. Correct me if I am wrong but months ago he said:

"ARI bought intercytex so their wig company could gain more prestige".

I am starting to believe he was right.

What the hell has ARI been doing all this time?

[Sogeking]

Originally Posted by Maradona

Are you serious?

We can't say with absolute certainty that the new formed follicels will not fall prey to the same problem as the existining ones on the scalp of a man with androgenetic alopecia. That is still a question for me.
And even if it would be nice to contact Replicel or Aderans there are still patents to considered or just the fact that they might be unwilling.

[moore]

Originally Posted by Sogeking

We can't say with absolute certainty that the new formed follicels will not fall prey to the same problem as the existining ones on the scalp of a man with androgenetic alopecia. That is still a question for me.
And even if it would be nice to contact Replicel or Aderans there are still patents to considered or just the fact that they might be unwilling.

Correct indeed