Abstract:

Wool is an important livestock product that develops from wool follicles. wool follicles is a micro-organ derived from the skin tissue, which consists of more than 20 types of cells, including hair follicle stem cells, dermal papillae, hair matrices, outer root sheaths and inner heel sheaths, with complex structure and intercellular communication. Therefore, in order to improve wool yield and quality, comprehensive understanding of the developmental characteristics of hair follicles under various cell interactions was needed in advance. Currently, cell culture techniques are mainly categorized into 2D cell culture and 3D cell culture. Conventional 2D cell culture techniques for culturing wool follicle-associated cells are characterized by a large gap with in vivo growth conditions and a gradual loss of hair-inducing ability. 3D cell culture is the cultivation of cells in 3D structures that mimic the specificity of tissues and organs. By mimicking the natural environment, it allows cells to aggregate into a certain morphology and facilitates cell-cell communication, as well as cell-extracellular matrix communication, thus restoring a certain in vivo function, which makes up for the shortcomings of traditional 2D cell culture. This paper briefly introduces 3D cell culture models and types, construction methods, applications in various cell and wool follicle development studies, and looks forward to the development of 3D cell culture technology in hair follicle development studies and other fields.

Key words: 3D cell culture, wool follicles, extracellular matrix