Scientists grow fully functional hair follicles in the lab for first time
Mar 4th 2026
Researchers report the first in vitro production of fully functional, cycling hair follicles in mice by adding a previously missing accessory mesenchymal cell to a three-cell recipe, but human applications are still unproven.
- A US and Japan research team grew hair follicles that cycle and attach to surrounding tissue entirely in vitro using mouse cells.
- They added a third cell type, accessory mesenchymal cells, to the known pair of epithelial stem cells and dermal papilla cells to trigger complete follicle development.
- The lab-grown follicles functioned without needing transplantation into living skin, unlike previous lab attempts.
- The study was published in Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications and was partially funded by OrganTech, which includes some study authors.
- Human tests and scaling for clinical hair restoration remain untested and will be required before any treatments are available.