Interview: Xunwei Wu – Hair Regeneration Research

We interviewed skin and hair biology researcher Xunwei Wu about his ongoing research in hair follicle regeneration. Let’s look at what researchers are working on for the future of hair regrowth.

Who is Xunwei Wu?

Xunwei Wu is a researcher who has worked in dermatology (specifically skin biology) for more than 20 years. In the early stages of his research, he used gene knockouts to study skin and hair development in mouse models. He found that deletion of the gene Cdc42 in keratinocytes (skin epidermal cells) resulted in hair loss in mice. He then studied the molecular mechanisms surrounding the development of cancers by using culture-expanded human keratinocytes to generate a human skin cancer model in mice. Through this research, Xunwei focused on constructing mouse models with human skin and hair regeneration.

Interview

FT: Please describe the latest technology you are working on for hair follicle regeneration.

XW: I have developed our media composition for maintaining the potential of skin stem cells (including epidermal and dermal stem cells) during culture expansion. These culture-expanded scalp-derived cells could efficiently regenerate functional hair follicles. Compared with publications from other groups, the efficiency with which our cells regenerate mature human hair follicles is much higher (Figure 1). Our culture-expanded hair follicles formed an early hair organoid, which was grafted to form hair follicles in vivo. Recently, we collaborated with Dr. Zhang’s lab from Harvard Medical School to construct hair follicles in vitro using 3D bioprinting technology.

FT: Can you describe what is going on in the image provided (above)?

XW: Culture-expanded scalp-derived cells from two donors were grafted onto an immunodeficient mouse to generate human-pigmented skin with hair follicles. The left panel is regenerated human hairs 6 months after grafting from one donor. The right panel was from the other donor 12 months after grafting.

FT: Is it possible to bioengineer hair follicles from dermal papilla (DP) cells derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs)?

XW: Yes, I think so. We are currently working on iPS-derived DP cells together with iPS-derived epidermal cells. Hopefully, we will be able to show you that the iPS-derived cells can efficiently regenerate human hair follicles in a mouse model.

FT: Have you grafted any hair organoids into human tissue to observe their growth potential? 

XW: Yes, we did, and the work was published here.

FT: Would you say that your best achievement thus far is the proprietary culturing system you have created, which appears superior to other attempts?

XW: Yes, I think so. I always think the quality or potential of follicle-related stem cells is the most important factor in regenerating hair follicles, and the culturing system is one of the key factors in maintaining stem cell potential during culture.

FT: If you are familiar with other approaches in the industry for cellular hair regeneration, what differentiates your method or makes it superior to others?

XW: The quality of source cells and hair follicle stem cells, including both epidermal and mesenchymal stem cells, play a crucial role in the regeneration of hair follicles. Due to a huge difference in microenvironments between in vitro and in vivo, hair stem cells lose their ability to regenerate during culture expansion. We believe our culture system is the key to maintaining and enhancing the potential of hair follicle stem cells in vitro.

FT: In your estimation, could a version of your technology be delivered to the scalp by simple injection (similar to Botox) or would your cells need to be carefully inserted to create individual hair germs?

XW: I think a simple injection would work since most hair loss, including androgenetic alopecia, is due to miniaturized hair follicles. Injected cells with potential may move to stem cell niches, help existing follicles return to a normal state, and regrow the hair follicle.

FT: What does the path ahead to human trials look like for your work in terms of the timeline or resources you will need? Are you currently seeking industry partnerships for this?

XW: Currently, what we are doing is still basic research. To translate our technology into a clinical product, we will need funding to support this transition (establishment of GLP, GMP, SOP). One important factor is optimizing an efficient delivery method for clinical use. So far, we haven’t actively sought industry partnerships, but we are totally open to it.

Reflections

This interview offers an insight into the landscape of hair follicle regeneration research; however, as with all research, the journey from laboratory to clinic will likely be long and costly. Recent news from this month regarding Stemson Therapeutics advancements in a similar area may pave the way for this research to move forward. We are interested to see what news will follow in the coming years. We want to thank Xunwei for taking the time to answer our questions.

Let us know what you think in the comments.