Category Archives: Adipose-Derived Stem Cells (ADSC)

Adipose-Derived Stem Cells (ADSC)

Adipose-Derived Stem Cells and Hair Growth

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Adipose-Derived Stem Cells and Hair Growth
Adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) and Hair Growth. Comprehensive diagram of pathways and mechanism of action. Source: Stem Cell Research & Therapy.

Update: August 10, 2025

An excellent new paper from China has just been published. It covers the latest research and developments in adipose-derived stem cells (and their derivatives) in the treatment of hair loss. Per the paper’s main breakouts, ADSCs impact hair growth via:

  1. Regulating the hair follicle cycle.
  2. Anti-inflammatory effects.
  3. Antioxidant effects.
  4. Neovascularization (improved blood flow) effects, primarily from growth factors such as VEGF.

The paper also breaks out ADSCs and their derivatives, which have all been used for hair growth purposes.

April 3, 2015

Stem Cells

The human stem cell is one of nature’s most impressive creations. These super building blocks of life can differentiate into various other specialized cells or into yet other identical stem cells. If they remain in an undifferentiated state, stem cells still go through numerous cycles of cell division.

There are two main types of stem cells:

  1. Embryonic stem cells that are derived from human embryos. These cells are pluripotent.
  2. Adult stem cells that are derived from living adults. These cells are multipotent.

The latter are significantly less controversial than the former when it comes to medical research. Adult stem cells (also called somatic stem cells) are further divided into three main types based on source:

  1. Bone Marrow (requiring extraction from a bone).
  2. Adipose Tissue (i.e., lipid or fat cells, requiring extraction via liposuction). We call these adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs).
  3. Blood (requiring extraction via a blood draw).

Adipose-Derived Stem Cells (ADSCs) and Hair Growth

Adipose-derived stem cells are the focus of this post, since they have been the subject of numerous research papers in the hair growth field. Note that stromal vascular fraction that contains some ADSCs is also being used for hair growth purposes.

One can find summaries of a multitude of papers related to ADSCs and hair on PubMed. ADSCs are classified as mesenchymal stem cell (MSCs). For example, I found this 2012 paper from Japan quite interesting and encouraging due to its findings that ADSC condition medium resulted in hair growth in all 25 test patients.

However, when I first read it, I assumed that these results were most likely just a modest improvement over those from PRP. But a number of new studies lead me to believe that ADSCs just might be superior to PRP in regrowing hair. It also makes intuitive sense that stem cells would give better results than just plasma.

The latest of these studies just came out a week ago and is a must read. This one is yet again from Japan. Both this 2015 study and the one that I posted earlier in this post from 2012 have the same two lead authors: Dr. Hirotaro Fukuoka and Dr. Hirotaka Suga. These two doctors are conducting their work at the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Kyorin University in Tokyo, Japan.

The conclusion of this latest study is worth quoting:

Treatment using adipose-derived stem cell-conditioned medium appears highly effective for alopecia and may represent a new therapy for hair regeneration.

ADSCs contain a number of growth factors that are beneficial to hair growth:

Adipose-derived stem cell-conditioned medium is rich in growth factors such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1).

Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP), Adipose-Derived Stem Cells (ADSC), Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Ideeea Therapeutics AGAcell: MSCs and ATP

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I originally added this story about Ideeea Therapeutics (Spain) as an update to my past post on mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and hair growth. However, lots of readers missed it, and this company keeps getting widespread global media coverage. So I have now written this separate post on Ideeea Therapeutics. If you made a comment in that post, feel free to re-post it here, and I will then delete it from there.

Ideeea Therapeutics AGAcell: MSCs and ATP

Spain-based start-up Ideeea Therapeutics has raised €2.3 million in seed round funding. The company’s AGAcell ® technology entails the treatment of androgenetic alopecia via the intradermal administration of a patented formulation. This consists of allogeneic mesenchymal stem cells (derived from adipose tissue) combined with a “bioactive molecule”.

The bioactive molecule entails adenosine triphosphate (ATP). The current research was conducted successfully in mice that were treated with various iterations of MSCs and ATP after being induced to lose their hair via the administration of dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Both liposomal and non-liposomal ATP were tested, along with various doses of adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs). The various doses gave different outcomes in male versus female mice, but ultimately, the results were almost always positive:

“The researchers explained that the injection of low-dose stem cells and ATP into male mice resulted in a nearly 100% hair growth effect in three weeks. In female mice, there was no effect at high or low doses, but the hair growth rate reached 90% at medium doses.”

The combination of adipose derived stem cells and adenosine triphosphate regenerates hair via the regenerative capacity provided by the former, and the cellular energy increase provided by the latter. In this study, the authors conclude that:

“ATP supplementation of cell preparations might be a good therapeutic option to enhance the beneficial impacts of MSCs.”

Ideeea Therapeutics AGAcell MSCs and ATP
Ideeea Therapeutics AGAcell: Allogeneic MSCs and ATP for hair growth. Source: Stem Cell Research & Therapy.

Dr. Eduardo López Bran, the lead scientist for this treatment, was interviewed on June 1 and also covered in this article on June 5. He is the head of the Dermatology Department at the San Carlos Clinical Hospital. He expects that human clinical trials could begin in 2027 or 2028, with an estimated duration of two years. However, the company’s pipeline page indicates that Phase 1 would begin in 2025/2026 and Phase 3 would end around 2030.

Note that in 2024, I covered a Taiwanese company that is working on an AMPK activator product to boost ATP levels of human follicle dermal papilla cells. ATP sprays are often used during hair transplant procedures. And laser hair growth device energy also increases production of ATP.

Also of note, one of the main ways in which Minoxidil works to grow hair is via the opening of ATP-sensitive potassium (KATP) channels.