TITLE: Cell culture media stimulate hair regrowth in chemotherapy-induced alopecia in mice

AUTHORS (ALL): Lindenbaum, Ella S; Tendler, Mark ; Feitelberg, Arie L; Beach, Dvora ; Gamliel-Lazarovich, Aviva

INSTITUTIONS: Faculty of Medicine, Technion, Haifa, , IL;

ABSTRACT: Cell culture medium MCDB or BGJ gelled in hydroxyethylcellulose and supplemented with three non-steroidal anabolic hormones, thyroxine, insulin and growth hormone, was used as a topical agent to treat chemotherapy-induced alopecia in C57Bl mice. Control animals were treated with gelled saline or dry massage. The treatment was applied to the depilated skin twice daily. All the mice were injected with cyclophosphamide 150 mg/kg resulting in severe hair loss in most animals, reaching maximum after 8 days. The chemotherapy-induced alopecia occurred in about 75% of all animals except those treated with MCDB-based gel, where chemotherapy-induced alopecia occurred in only 53% of the animals. Regrowth of normal pigmented hair after the injection was significantly (p<0.00001) accelerated by medium treatment when compared to the controls. Both rate and extent of recovery were effected. In 47% of the MCDB treated mice the return of regrowth occurred 8 days after the injection compared to 29% or less in all the other mice. Within 14 days after cyclophosphamide injection, 93% of the mice treated with BGL-based gel and 71% of MCDB treated mice exhibited hair cover while only 38% of the gelled saline treated mice demonstrated regrowth. Further acceleration of recovery was observed 14 days after cyclophosphamide when the treatment started prior to the injection; in that case 100% of the BGJ and 79% of the MCDB treated mice were covered with hair, while in the gelled saline and massage treated only 59% and 42%, respectively, were covered with hair. The efficacy of treatment as demonstrated 14 days after the injection was: BGJ>MCDB>saline>dry massage. These results point to a protective effect of both gelled media against chemotherapy-induced alopecia. Thus the enriched cell culture medium decreased the toxic effects of cyclophosphamide and reduced the time delay between the injection and the regrowth of hair, neither of which were achieved by using the vehicle control or dry massage.