London: In what could facilitate the development of novel treatment strategies for hair growth in humans, researchers have found that immune cells involved in wound healing can induce hair growth by surrounding and activating skin stem cells.

"We have discovered that macrophages -- cells whose main function is traditionally attributed to fight infections and wound repair -- are also involved in the activation of hair follicle stem cells in non-inflamed skin," said Mirna Perez-Moreno from the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO).