Hair follicles (HFs) maintain a peripheral, functional equivalent of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, whose most proximal element is corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH). The mast cell (MC)-rich connective-tissue sheath (CTS) of mouse vibrissa HFs harbors MC precursors. Differentiation of these MC precursors into mature MCs can be induced by stem cell factor (SCF). We have investigated whether the MC progenitors of normal human scalp HF CTS respond to stimulation with CRH. Microdissected anagen HFs and full-thickness scalp skin were treated with CRH (10(-7) M). CRH treatment induced the degranulation of CTS MCs, in addition to increasing the number of CTS MCs in full-thickness skin and HF organ cultures in situ. In the latter, cells with characteristic MC features emigrated from the CTS. CRH-receptor protein expression in the CTS was colocalized with Kit expression on some CTS MCs in situ. CRH treatment upregulated SCF mRNA and protein expression within the HF epithelium. In skin organ culture, CRH-induced degranulation of CTS MCs was abolished by anti-SCF antibody. We demonstrate that human skin is an extramedullary reservoir for MC precursors, and we have identified a regulatory loop between CRH and SCF signaling. This highlights a previously unpublished finding about neuroendocrine control of human MC biology.