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Customized Solutions for Hair-Bearing Skin Organoid Model Development
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The search for physiologically relevant human skin models is a long-standing challenge in dermatological research and drug discovery. Protheragen is a skin disorders preclinical research service provider dedicated to offering an integrated solution from discovery to safety evaluation. Our company provides hair-bearing skin organoid model development services, which is also a substantial advancement in a robust and relevant in vitro system that recapitulates essential aspects of complex skin physiology to provide for more accurate predictive research.
Overview of Hair-Bearing Skin Organoid Model
Human-induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived hair-bearing skin organoids are a significant advancement for the modeling of human skin development and disease. These three-dimensional (3D) structures mirror important aspects of embryonic skin morphogenesis by generating a stratified epidermis, a dermal portion, and, importantly, complex appendages such as hair follicles and sebaceous glands. By offering a well-characterized in vitro model, they address a long-standing challenge in dermatological research, overcoming the limitations of rodent models and two-dimensional cell cultures.
Application of Hair-Bearing Skin Organoids
Drug Discovery & Efficacy Screening
Serves as a high-fidelity platform for the phenotypic screening of novel compounds, biologics, or repurposed drugs targeting hair growth modulation, follicle regeneration, or associated signaling pathways.
Toxicology & Safety Assessment
Offers a complex tissue environment for assessing skin local toxicity, irritation potential, and off-target activity of topically or systemically applied compounds on hair follicles and their niche.
Disease Modeling & Mechanistic Studies
Facilitates the study of complex skin disorders where the pilosebaceous unit is involved by incorporating patient-derived cells or using gene editing to introduce specific mutations.
Hair Biology & Disorder Research
Allows for basic investigation into human hair follicle development, cycling, and regeneration. It is appropriate for modeling and analyzing the mechanism of a variety of alopecia and monogenic hair diseases.
Integrated Services for Hair-Bearing Skin Organoid Model Development
Leveraging our comprehensive preclinical platform, we provide end-to-end support for utilizing this advanced model in your research and development pipeline. Our integrated services ensure seamless integration from model establishment to data generation.
- Project Design: Initiating with a collaborative consultation to define precise research objectives and develop a customized experimental plan.
- Organoid Model Generation: Expert execution of our optimized protocol to generate physiologically relevant, hair-bearing skin organoids from defined cell sources.
- Validation & Functional Testing: Rigorous multi-parameter assessment, including histology and molecular profiling, to confirm model fidelity and functionality.
- Application & Analysis: Targeted experimentation (e.g., drug screening, mechanistic studies) followed by comprehensive data analysis and expert interpretation.
Case Study-Hair-Bearing Skin Organoid Model Development
Following commitment of iPSC-derived embryoid bodies to a surface ectoderm fate, cyst-like organoids were switched to a maturation medium at day 14. By 8 weeks of maturation, distinct epidermal and dermal layers had developed within the skin organoids. Hair follicle initiation became evident after 10 weeks of maturation. Once hair follicle density reached approximately 80%, an air-liquid interface (ALI) culture was established to better mimic physiological conditions. This ALI phase supported the final maturation, yielding fully developed skin organoids. Histological examination revealed an architecture highly analogous to native human skin, featuring a well-stratified epidermis and a dermal compartment enriched with adipose tissue and hair follicles, including elongated follicles and visible hair shafts. Furthermore, the expression of key markers was verified through immunohistochemical analysis. The epidermal layer showed positive staining for KRT10, while the dermal layer appropriately expressed Vimentin.
Fig.1 Experimental scheme for generating human hair-bearing skin organoids.
Contact Us
Beyond our hair-bearing skin organoid platform, Protheragen offers advanced technology and comprehensive solutions, including skin-on-a-chip systems and custom animal model development to provide a complete preclinical perspective. By integrating deep domain expertise in skin biology with a fully integrated preclinical service portfolio, we provide you access to dependable, physiologically relevant data for your development programs to help de-risk and move forward quickly. Our method focuses on scientific rigor, tailoring, and partnership to bring complex research questions into insights for action. For detailed discussions about how our hair-bearing skin organoid model can be used to solve your specific challenges, please contact us.
Reference
- Kim, Min-Ji et al. “Modeling of solar UV-induced photodamage on the hair follicles in human skin organoids.” Journal of tissue engineering 15 (2024): 20417314241248753.
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All of our services and products are intended for preclinical research use only and cannot be used to diagnose, treat or manage patients.