The Laboratory for Organ Regeneration (Takashi Tsuji, Team Leader) at the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology has signed an agreement with Kyocera Corporation, and Organ Technologies Inc. to carry out collaborative research aimed at developing technologies and products for treating alopecia (hair loss) through the regeneration of hair follicles.

Tsuji and his research team previously developed an “organ primordium technology,” in which epithelial stem cells and mesenchymal stem cells isolated from hair follicles of mature mice were cultured and proliferated to reconstruct hair follicle-like structure. Using this technology, the three parties will work together to establish cell culturing and transplantation techniques as well as develop devices to automate the cell manipulation technology.

The joint research will be carried out at the RIKEN Integrated Innovation Building (IIB) in Kobe.