Inhibition of the Hippo pathway by verteporfin reduces the proliferation and stemness of rat hair follicle neural crest stem cells under hypoxia.

Hair follicle neural crest stem cells reside in the bulge region of the outer root sheath of hair follicles, originate from the ectoderm, and have multidirectional differentiation potential, making them ideal candidates for tissue engineering applications. These cells mainly reside in a hypoxic microenvironment that favors the maintenance of stemness. Recently, many studies have elucidated the involvement of the Hippo pathway in the regulation of stem cell fate.