New paper from drs christiano & Higgins

[Renee]

Melanin Transfer in Human 3D Skin Equivalents Generated Exclusively from Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells.

Abstract
The current utility of 3D skin equivalents is limited by the fact that existing models fail to recapitulate the cellular complexity of human skin. They often contain few cell types and no appendages, in part because many cells found in the skin are difficult to isolate from intact tissue and cannot be expanded in culture. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) present an avenue by which we can overcome this issue due to their ability to be differentiated into multiple cell types in the body and their unlimited growth potential. We previously reported generation of the first human 3D skin equivalents from iPSC-derived fibroblasts and iPSC-derived keratinocytes, demonstrating that iPSCs can provide a foundation for modeling a complex human organ such as skin. Here, we have increased the complexity of this model by including additional iPSC-derived melanocytes. Epidermal melanocytes, which are largely responsible for skin pigmentation, represent the second most numerous cell type found in normal human epidermis and as such represent a logical next addition. We report efficient melanin production from iPSC-derived melanocytes and transfer within an entirely iPSC-derived epidermal-melanin unit and generation of the first functional human 3D skin equivalents made from iPSC-derived fibroblasts, keratinocytes and melanocytes.

http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0136713

[Gjm127]

I come here rarely these days... It really bums me out when I see we're still doing papers on this matter...

[JayM]

On the matter of IPSC's? They are one of the fastest growing areas of biology and there have really not been that many papers on them.

"We report efficient melanin production from iPSC-derived melanocytes and transfer within an entirely iPSC-derived epidermal-melanin unit and generation of the first functional human 3D skin equivalents made from iPSC-derived fibroblasts, keratinocytes and melanocytes." let's not underestimate how important that paragraph is. Infact this should not be forgotten at all. Where's lacazette? He would be loving this.

Thanks dude!

[hellouser]

I come here rarely these days... It really bums me out when I see we're still doing papers on this matter...

Could be worse.... they could be testing on mice.

[baldybald]

Yes it is painful, but this will keep happening for next few years. Sorry

[Renee]

Hellouser you should try to speak with her at the conference. According to that April 2015 New York Times article she started a company called "rapunzel" to commercialize the 3d spheroid method.

[Arieux]

In the article mentioned by Renee, dr Christiano said that clinical trials of her stem-cell treatment will begin in 1-2 years:

Angela Christiano, a hair geneticist and Columbia University professor of dermatology, is hoping to begin clinical trials in a year or two on a procedure in which she dissects hair-follicle stem cells, grows them in the lab until she has several million, then injects them into the scalp, where, a very small study done with a human skin model has shown, they induce new hairs. (...) Her hope is that the procedure (she has helped start a company named Rapunzel to develop it) will eventually become another lunchtime cosmetic treatment. Once a patient has had her cells harvested and cultured, they could be stored indefinitely; then, after giving her doctor a month’s notice (the time it takes to grow the million needed), she could pop in for injections. Costs would likely be on par with hair transplants, roughly $10,000 and up.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/16/fashion/new-hair-thinning-treatments-for-women.html?_r=0

I am really curious about progress in that project since publication of this article.

[Renee]

Exactly we need to ask dr christiano who is a co-chair at the congress about this, very important!

[JayM]

Holy sh*t that sounds amazing.

[DepressedByHairLoss]

In the article mentioned by Renee, dr Christiano said that clinical trials of her stem-cell treatment will begin in 1-2 years:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/16/fashion/new-hair-thinning-treatments-for-women.html?_r=0

I am really curious about progress in that project since publication of this article.

This is the kind of thing we need; not these hair transplants being flogged to death.

[lacazette]

Wow good to know that Christiano is involved in commercialization of something, she easily in the top 10 of hairloss researchers with her amount of work
let's hope she also think to benefit from the japan regenerative medecine law though

[baldybald]

I do not know why I feel that the cure is not coming, do not get me wrong guys but it is difficult to believe that we will get somethings that will create new follicles and we can get our hair back. I hope am wrong though

[lacazette]

I understand your feeling, but in fact they already create new follicles (US army, Sung jan Lin, Terskish, Ohyama, Amagai, Lauster, Fujiwara and others), the waiting game before human testing is more because of safety and because they have to build protocols and technologies that are less and less expensive, less time consuming, automated the things etc etc to make the protocol commercializable. and it's exactly what is going on in Japan's different protagonists or even with Terskish ( safety studies and protocol improvement for large human scale)

[Trouse5858]

I understand your feeling, but in fact they already create new follicles (US army, Sung jan Lin, Terskish, Ohyama, Amagai, Lauster, Fujiwara and others), the waiting game before human testing is more because of safety and because they have to build protocols and technologies that are less and less expensive, less time consuming, automated the things etc etc to make the protocol commercializable. and it's exactly what is going on in Japan's different protagonists or even with Terskish ( safety studies and protocol improvement for large human scale)

Technically this is correct, but it's still a bit of a misnomer, no? I mean they still are unable to create cosmetically viable follicles. At the end of the day, vellus hairs or growth on non-human subjects was always going to be the first step, but there are still a number of hurdles to overcome before thick, terminal hairs can be engineered to grow in a natural cycle, in the correct direction and of the same color. So yes, it's a matter of making commercialization economically feasible, but the science is still a major question mark as well I believe.

[lacazette]

Yes I agree with you that there are still science questions but maybe not as much as what you describe. As i remember morphologically correct hiar follicle, terminal hair, DNA correct, natural cycling, color, are things described and achieved by at least the US army researchers, and takashi tsuji. Maybe terskish and Ohyama too now.Also sung jan lin studies work on those different aspects. I think it's not really far for these hurdles to be overcomed if not yet