From a stem-cell–centered to a niche-centered view: the core role of collagen networks in hair loss and hair follicle miniaturization (opens in new tab)

Hair follicle miniaturization is a quantifiable histopathological endpoint shared by multiple forms of alopecia. The conventional “stem cell–centric” view often attributes regenerative failure to depletion or intrinsic dysfunction of hair follicle stem cells (HFSCs). However, in canonical trajectories such as human androgenetic alopecia, HFSC-related populations may remain detectable by marker-based analyses, whereas progenitor output is reduced. This pattern suggests that impaired conversion...