Genome doubling disables hair regeneration

This proposed mouse study asks whether repeated repair can heal skin yet reduce later hair regrowth. It focuses on follicular progenitors, cells that help build hair follicles. They may keep their identity after healing but lose the sustained divisions needed for a later hair cycle. The proposed cause is persistent genome doubling, when a cell copies its genetic material. After matched wound closure, labelled progenitors would be followed through their descendants in follicle niches. In immune-free reconstruction, they are predicted to retain identity yet yield less hair. Preventing endoreduplication, genome copying without cell division, during repair should preserve hair output. That pattern would support this mechanism over a rival based on cell location.