Recreating scalp inflammation ex vivo: A human hair follicle-preserving model for immunotoxicological & therapeutic assessment

The scalp is a complex tissue where immune responses, inflammation, and hair follicle biology are closely interconnected. Dysregulated inflammatory processes contribute to several dermatological conditions, including seborrheic dermatitis, psoriasis, and different forms of alopecia. However, reproducing these mechanisms in a physiologically relevant experimental model remains challenging.

Genoskin’s HairSkin^® model provides a human ex vivo platform containing mature hair follicles and pilosebaceous units, enabling the study of scalp biology, inflammatory pathways, and treatment responses in a native tissue environment.

Recent data demonstrate that topical LPS exposure induces a controlled inflammatory response while preserving overall tissue architecture and hair follicle morphology. The model reproduced key inflammatory signatures, including increased production of IL-8, GM-CSF, and MIP-1β, and showed changes in hair follicle cellular responses following inflammatory stimulation.

These findings support HairSkin^® as a relevant platform for investigating mechanisms of scalp inflammation and evaluating the efficacy and safety of innovative scalp treatments under physiologically relevant conditions.