Effects of epidermal growth factor, fibroblast growth factor, minoxidil and hydrocortisone on growth kinetics in human hair bulb papilla cells and root sheath fibroblasts cultured in vitro.

Comparative studies on growth kinetics of cultivated human hair bulb papilla cells (PCs) and hair root sheath fibroblasts (RSFs) yielded evidence of some peculiarities of PCs in both proliferative behavior and morphological growth pattern. As the dermal papilla, essentially supporting the nutrition of matrix epithelium, can be considered a target tissue for agents influencing maintenance of hair growth, we studied the effects of epidermal growth factor (EGF), fibroblast growth factor (FGF), minoxidil (Mino), and hydrocortisone (HC) on the proliferation of PCs and RSFs, both gained from dissected hair follicles of scalp biopsy specimens of two male adults and separately cultured in vitro. EGF and FGF proved to increase proliferation of both PCs and RSFs most, yet at a different intensity for each cell group. HC slowed proliferation, and Mino failed to influence growth of PCs and RSFs.