Experimentally Induced Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition of Human Hair Follicle Stem Cells as a Model of Scarring Alopecia Ex Vivo

Methods Mol Biol. 2026:3031:283-293. doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-5253-4_21.

Abstract

Primary cicatricial alopecia is characterized by a permanent "scarring" alopecia. This condition is characterized by the irreversible loss of hair follicles (HFs) as a result of apoptosis and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of epithelial stem cells localized in the HF bulge.We here report the procedure for experimentally induced EMT in healthy human epidermal stem cells (eSCs) using full-length HF organ culture ex vivo. The present model can be used to recapitulate the complex processes observed in scarring alopecia patient tissues, to further investigate the mechanisms involved in EMT transformation of HFeSCs, and to test substances that could prevent and/or rescue HFeSCs from EMT for the management of scarring alopecias.

Keywords: Epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT); Ex vivo organ culture; Hair follicle; Hair follicle bulge; Hair follicle stem cells; Scarring alopecia.

MeSH terms

  • Alopecia* / metabolism
  • Alopecia* / pathology
  • Cells, Cultured
  • Cicatrix* / pathology
  • Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition*
  • Hair Follicle* / cytology
  • Hair Follicle* / pathology
  • Humans
  • Organ Culture Techniques / methods
  • Stem Cells* / cytology
  • Stem Cells* / metabolism
  • Stem Cells* / pathology