BMP6 coordinates dermal papilla and epithelial cell states for hair follicle engineering and regeneration

Abstract

Human hair follicle engineering is hindered by the rapid loss of inductive competence in culture-expanded dermal papilla (DP) fibroblasts. Here we show that bone morphogenetic protein 6 (BMP6) maintains and restores DP-associated characteristics while promoting follicular epithelial differentiation by restricting keratinocyte (KC) proliferation and inducing hair follicle-associated marker expression. Human follicle transcriptomics further linked BMP activity to DP identity and follicular epithelial differentiation. Genetic mouse studies demonstrate that BMP6 in Sox2-positive DP cells contributes to normal anagen onset, progression, and maintenance. Gain- and loss-of-function studies in KC-DP organoids show that BMP6 promotes epithelial-mesenchymal organization and spatially patterned follicular structures. In vivo, topical BMP6 promotes anagen onset, whereas BMP6 overexpression restores the hair follicle-generating capacity of late-passage human DP fibroblasts. Together, these findings identify BMP6 as a compartment-dependent regulator that enhances human DP competence and promotes epithelial differentiation, supporting regenerative hair follicle formation and engineering with culture-expanded DP cells.