Minoxidil delivered via a stem cell membrane delivery controlled release system promotes hair growth in C57BL/6J mice

Dandan Song; Shouxi Pan; Wenxia Jin; Ronghui Wu; Tianqi Zhao; Jinlan Jiang; Mingji Zhu

doi:10.3389/fbioe.2023.1331754

Minoxidil delivered via a stem cell membrane delivery controlled release system promotes hair growth in C57BL/6J mice

Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2024 Jan 8:11:1331754. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2023.1331754. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Dandan Song¹, Shouxi Pan², Wenxia Jin³, Ronghui Wu¹, Tianqi Zhao¹, Jinlan Jiang⁴, Mingji Zhu¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Dermatology, China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China.
² Norman Bethune College of Medicine, Jilin University, Changchun, China.
³ Lanzhou Institute of Biological Products Co., Ltd., Lanzhou, China.
⁴ Scientific Research Center, China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China.

Abstract

Objective: Umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cell membrane-loaded minoxidil (MXD) nanoparticles (STCM-MXD-NPs) were prepared to investigate their effects on hair growth in C57BL/6J mice. Methods: STCM-MXD-NPs were obtained by freeze-thawing and differential centrifugation, and their effects on hair growth were evaluated using C57BL/6J mice. The mRNA and protein expression levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) were detected by real-time polymerase chain reaction and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, respectively. Protein expression levels of marker of proliferation Ki-67 (MKI67) and β-catenin (CTNNB) in skin tissue were detected by immunohistochemistry. Results: STCM-MXD-NPs improved MXD solubility. They released the drug slowly, increasing its transdermal properties, accumulation in the skin, and content in the hair bulb tissues with a better efficacy than that of ordinary MXD. Moreover, STCM-MXD-NPs significantly upregulated the mRNA and protein levels of VEGF and IGF-1 and promoted the protein expression of MKI67 and CTNNB in mouse skin tissues, promoting mouse hair growth. Conclusion: Stem cell membrane-loaded MXD nanoparticles with slow-release properties increased MXD accumulation in the skin by improving its transdermal properties, increasing VEGF, IGF-1, MKI67, and CTNNB expression levels and promoting hair growth in C57BL/6J mice.

Keywords: hair follicle delivery; hair growth; minoxidil; nanoparticle; stem cell membrane.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This study was supported by the Department of Science and Technology of the Jilin Province (20220204004YY).