In the News – Growth Factor for Follicle Generation During Wound Healing Identified

Snippet from the article:

Researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have determined the role of a key growth factor, found in skin cells of limited quantities in humans, which helps hair follicles form and regenerate during the wound healing process. When this growth factor, called Fgf9, was overexpressed in a mouse model, there was a two- to three-fold increase in the number of new hair follicles produced. Researchers believe that this growth factor could be used therapeutically for people with various hair and scalp disorders. The study appears in an advance online publication of Nature Medicine.

“The findings help explain why humans don’t regenerate their hair after wounding,” said senior author George Cotsarelis, MD, professor and chair of Dermatology. “The study also points us to a way to treat wounds and grow hair.”

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Exciting stuff from a world renowned researcher!