Extensive hair shaft growth after mouse whisker follicle isolation, cryopreservation and transplantation in nude mice

Abstract

We previously demonstrated that whole hair follicles could be cryopreserved to maintain their stem-cells differentation potential. In the present study, we demonstrated that cryopre-served mouse whisker hair follicles maintain their hair growth potential. DMSO better cryo-preserved mouse whisker follicles compared to glycerol. Cryopreserved hair follicles also maintained the hair follicle-associated-pluripotent (HAP) stem cells, evidenced by P75NTR expression. Subcutaneous transplantation of DMSO-cryopreserved hair follicles in nude mice resulted in extensive hair fiber growth over 8 weeks, indicating the functional recovery of hair shaft growth of cryopreserved hair follicles.