Versican and epithelial-mesenchymal interaction

Patent Number: 7,163,679

Versican is a chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan that is considered part of the extracellular matrix. Various isoforms of Versican exist, some associated with specific stages of development. In this patent the inventors found that versican-expressing dermal papilla (DP) cells have the ability to induce hair generation. Accordingly, the patent aims at screening agents that may be used to induce hair growth by assessing activation status of the versican promoter in various cell lines.

This patent is useful for scientists seeking to establish high through-put screening methods for hair growth inducers. The only caveat is understanding how concrete the relationship really is between versican promoter activation and induction of new hair growth.

View this patent on the USPTO website.