Abstract
Common human balding or hair loss is driven by follicle miniaturization. Miniaturization is thought to be caused by a reduction in dermal papilla size. The molecular mechanisms that regulate papilla size are poorly understood, and their elucidation would benefit from a tractable experimental model. We have found that dermal papilla cells from sheep spontaneously aggregate in culture to form papilla-like structures. Here, we describe methods for microdissecting dermal papillae from wool follicles, for initiating and maintaining cultures of ovine papilla cells, and for using these cells in an in vitro assay to measure the effect of bioactive molecules on aggregate size.
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Acknowledgements
The development of these culture methods was supported by the New Zealand Foundation for Research, Science and Technology (C10X0403), the Australian Wool Innovation Ltd. Sheep GENOMICS program (SG318), and the AgResearch Research and Capability Fund (A12258 and A13595).
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Rufaut, N.W., Nixon, A.J., Sinclair, R.D. (2016). Culture of Dermal Papilla Cells from Ovine Wool Follicles: An In Vitro Model for Papilla Size Determination. In: Hoffman, R. (eds) Multipotent Stem Cells of the Hair Follicle. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1453. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-3786-8_12
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-3786-8_12
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