The role of hair follicles in dermal remodelling and cutaneous wound healing

Clinicians have long reported that hair-bearing areas heal more rapidly than parts of the body lacking hair follicles. Following a recent clinical study demonstrating the potential of hair follicle transplantation to promote chronic wound healing, several mechanisms for the observed effect have been proposed. The major identified capacity of the hair follicle is to outsource precursor cells supporting epidermis for immediate local repair. Further observational studies on hair transplantation reported increased vascularization, re-innervation and remodelling of the surrounding dermis.

One of the ideas for the role of hair in wound healing focused on follicular dermal populations, dermal sheath cells in particular. Besides playing a role in the hair growth, dermal sheath cells are proposed to have a function in the repair of dermis after injury. This may happen via paracrine signals that promote vascularization, re-innervation and matrix remodelling, which are all involved in the wound closure. In my PhD project, I aim to integrate the current evidence and build knowledge about the potential of human hair follicles in dermal remodelling and wound healing. I will challenge the proposed mechanisms focusing on the effect of follicular dermal populations in enhancing angiogenesis, re-innervation and extracellular matrix remodelling. The study will combine in vitro cell-based assays followed by proteomic and genomic experiments with a clinical study on patients undergoing hair transplantation.

The final goal of my PhD project will be to elucidate the mechanism of the effect of hair follicles on the surrounding dermis. In the future, the results of this study will be used to design novel therapeutic strategies for wound healing and scar remodelling.