Japan Team Succeeds in Hair Regeneration Using Mice

Tokyo (Jiji Press) - A Japanese team has successfully regenerated hair using mouse whisker follicles for the first time in the world, a technology that could be applied to restore hair for people suffering from hair loss, it was learned Saturday,
The team led by Tokyo University of Science Prof. Takashi Tsuji picked up stem cells from mouse whisker follicles, cultivated them, allowed them to multiply, transplanted them on the back of a hairless mouse and succeeded in regenerating hair from them, informed sources told Jiji Press.
The regenerated hair had medulla and cortex just like naturally grown hair does, and the transplanted follicles repeatedly grew new hair for three months just like regular follicles.
If this technology can be applied to people suffering from hair loss, those people can get transplants of their own hair tissues on parts where hair is lost, regenerate hair from them and maintain hair for a long period of time.
Tsuji said the team hopes to start clinical trials in three years at the earliest, after improving efficiency and safety of the hair regeneration method.
The team plans to announce an outline of the new technology at a conference of the Japanese Society for Regenerative Medicine to be held in Tokyo on Tuesday and publish its details in a leading science journal.