fig11

Figure 11. Dual confocal microscopy of implanted scalp hair follicles. Follicles 1 and 2 (proximal and distal) were imaged 1 month after the initiation of visible anagen hair at the skin surface (i.e., 3 months after implantation). At intra-follicular depths ranging from 50 to 120 µm, we reached the detection threshold for auto-fluorescence of hair shafts. The top panels show images of hair inside follicle 1 and the bottom panels for hair follicle 2. The top-left panel of Hair 1 (at an intra-follicular depth of 50 µm) displays a fluorescence lifetime image that distinguishes different components based on the lifetime of their fluorophores. Living cells are typically artificially colored blue [NAD(P)H/NADH] and keratin in green/yellow. Deeper within the follicle, the only image is a blurred ring (top panel: hair 1 at an intra-follicular depth of 120 µm), while images from hair 2, taken at a similar intra-follicular depth (bottom panel: hair 2 at 120 µm), show epithelial cells (infundibulum or outer root sheath) along with a fine network of collagen fibers, reflecting the perifollicular dermal sheaths or superficial dermal structures.