3D Spheroid Human Dermal Papilla Cell as an Effective Model for the Screening of Hair Growth Promoting Compounds: Examples of Minoxidil and 3,4,5-Tri-O-caffeoylquinic acid (TCQA)

Abstract

Dermal papilla cells (DPCs) are an important element of the hair follicle (HF) niche, widely used as an in vitro model to study hair growth-related research. These cells are usually grown in 2D culture, but this system did not show efficient therapeutic effects on HF regeneration and growth, and key differences were observed between cell activity in vitro and in vivo. Recent studies have showed that DPCs grown in 3D hanging spheroids are more morphologically akin to an intact DP microenvironment. In this current study, global gene molecular analysis showed that the 3D model highly affected cell adhesion molecules and hair growth-related pathways. Furthermore, we compared the expression of signalling molecules and metabolism-associated proteins of DPCs treated with minoxidil (an FDA-approved drug for hair loss treatment) and 3,4,5-tri-O-caffeoylquinic acid (TCQA) (recently found to induce hair growth in vitro and in vivo) in 3D spheroid hanging drops and a 2D monolayer using DNA microarray analysis. Further validations by determining the gene and protein expressions of key signature molecules showed the suitability of this 3D system for enhancing the DPC activity of the hair growth-promoting agents minoxidil and TCQA.

Innovative Approaches and Advances for Hair Follicle Regeneration

“…In the latest study, Bejaoui et al conducted DNA microarray analysis to compare the expression of signaling molecules and metabolism-related proteins in 3D spheroid suspensions and 2D monolayers in DPCs treated with minoxidil and 3,4,5-tri- O -caffeoylquinic acid (TCQA). The suitability of the 3D system for enhancing the DPC activity of the hair growth promoters minoxidil and TCQA was verified by measuring gene and protein expression of key signature molecules . It offered proof of the potential of 3D sphere culture for clinical applications.…”

“…The suitability of the 3D system for enhancing the DPC activity of the hair growth promoters minoxidil and TCQA was verified by measuring gene and protein expression of key signature molecules. 236 It offered proof of the potential of 3D sphere culture for clinical applications. 4.3.…”

Flavonoids in safflower extract reduce cisplatin-induced damage to human follicle dermal papilla cells by inhibiting DNA damage and Rad17/Chk1/Cdc25C signaling

“…In a 2D culture environment, dermal papilla cells rapidly lose their hair inductive potential and, therefore cannot be cultured for a long time. However, now many 3D culture technologies are available for dermal papilla cells combined with special scaffolds that can simulate the in vivo environment and support long-term culture (Betriu et al, 2020;Bejaoui et al, 2022;Yoon et al, 2022). This is beneficial for studying various drugs.…”

Establishment and Characterization of Immortalized Human Dermal Papilla Cells Expressing Human Papillomavirus 16 E6/E7

“…HDPCs are multipotent stem cells and their aggregative properties and stemness are associated with hair follicle formation [ 35 , 36 ]. 3D spheroids efficiently induce HDPC that can form hair follicles in the skin [ 37 ]. Previous studies demonstrated that 3D spheroids of HDPCs form de novo hair follicles on mice skin [ 38 ].…”