NEW YORK, Sept. 2 (UPI) -- Research on stem cells isolated from the skin of mice was found to have the power to self-renew and to help hairless mice grow hair.
The research was done by scientists at New York Rockefeller University and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
The self-renewal power was noted after the cells were cultured in the laboratory.
The cells also could differentiate into skin and functioning hair follicles when grafted onto mice.
The researchers say the findings mean the human equivalent of these stem cells which they are trying to isolate could ultimately be used to regenerate human skin and hair.
The new findings take another step toward understanding how to mimic the chemical signals that the cells require to differentiate into mature tissues, says Elaine Fuchs, the study's chief researcher.
The findings are published in the Sept. 3 issue of the journal Cell.
"We can now utilize similar methods to begin to compare mouse and human skin stem cells," Fuchs said.
