In one of the first studies to look at the population behavior of a large pool of stem cells in thousands of hair follicles -- as opposed to the stem cell of a single hair follicle -- Keck School of Medicine of USC scientists deciphered how hair stem cells in mice and rabbits can communicate with each other and encourage mutually coordinated regeneration, according to an article published in the April 29 edition of the journal Science. The team, which collaborated with mathematical biologists from the University of Oxford, analyzed over many months the changes in the hair growth patterns on shaved mice and rabbits, which indicate cyclic progression between active and quiescent states by stem cells in hair follicles.
