Abstract: Objective To investigate the effect of latanoprost on the growth of pig hair follicles in vitro.Methods A culture model of pig hair follicles was applied.The morphological changes in the hair bulbs and growth speed of the hair follicles cultured with different concentrations (0.032,0.16,0.8,4,20,100,500,2500 ng/mL) of latanoprost were observed and recorded on day 1,2,4,6,8 in the culture.Resttlts Compared with the follicles without latanoprost,those cultured with the drug (0.8,4,20 ng/mL) grew more rapidly (P<0.05).And on day 8 the follicular bulbs treated with latanoprost (0.8,4,20 ng/mL) were still in an anagen-phase,while those without the drug exhibited a catagen/teiogen-phase appearance.Conclusion The study shows that certain concentrations of latanprost could stimulate the growth of cultured pig hair follicles,which may be due to prolonging of the anagen phase in hair cycle.

Key words: Hair follicle, Tissue culture techniques, Latanoprost, Minoxidil, Somatomedins