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Trans-gender induction of hair follicles

Nature volume 402, pages 33–34 (1999)Cite this article

Human follicle cells can be induced to grow in an incompatible host of the other sex.

Adult hair growth and the cyclic regeneration of hair follicles are driven by finely regulated interactions between dermal and epidermal tissue at the base of the follicle1,2. In rodents, isolated hair-follicle dermal cells that are reintroduced in vivo can induce new follicles3,4, but this has never been achieved in humans. Despite the great advances in human tissue and organ transplantation, rejection processes severely restrict the transfer of cells between immunologically incompatible individuals, although the hair follicle is considered to be one a group of organs that display ‘immune privilege’5. Here we show that transplantation of human follicle dermal sheath tissue between incompatible individuals of different sex can induce the formation of new hair follicles.

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Figure 1: Methods and analysis of follicle induction.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, Durham University, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK

    Amanda J. Reynolds & Colin A. B. Jahoda

  2. Department of Dermatology, Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4LP, UK

    Clifford Lawrence

  3. Departments of Dermatology, and Genetics and Development, Columbia University, New York, 10032, New York, USA

    Peter B. Cserhalmi-Friedman & Angela M. Christiano

Authors
  1. Amanda J. Reynolds
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  2. Clifford Lawrence
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  3. Peter B. Cserhalmi-Friedman
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  4. Angela M. Christiano
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  5. Colin A. B. Jahoda
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Colin A. B. Jahoda.

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Reynolds, A., Lawrence, C., Cserhalmi-Friedman, P. et al. Trans-gender induction of hair follicles. Nature 402, 33–34 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/46938

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