Hair growth promoting effects of adipose tissue-derived stem cells

Abstract

Adipose tissue-derived stem cells (ADSCs) can display multilineage plasticity and share similar characteristics with bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells [1]. Moreover, ADSCs have various cytokine-secreting properties and beneficial paracrine effects on surrounding cells or tissues [2]. Recently, paracrine function is considered one of the most important therapeutic benefits of therapy using mesenchymal stem cells [3,4]. Regarding hair biology, several reports have demonstrated that growth factors from the surroundings stimulate hair growth in ex vivo and animal models [5,6].We have identified secretory factors derived from ADSCs by ELISA and proteomics previously, including IGF binding protein precursors, PDGF, KGF, HGF, VEGF, and fibronectin [7,8]. These factors are well-documented to be related to hair growth stimulation [6]. To determine whether these paracrine effects of ADSCs can promote hair growth, we investigated the effects of ADSCs on hair.