Watt Fiona M, Lo Celso Cristina, Silva-Vargas Violeta
Cancer Research UK London Research Institute, 44 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, WC2A 3PX, UK.
Curr Opin Genet Dev. 2006 Oct;16(5):518-24. doi: 10.1016/j.gde.2006.08.006. Epub 2006 Aug 17.
The mammalian epidermis is a highly accessible tissue in which to study the properties of adult stem cells. Global gene expression profiling has revealed new markers and regulators of the stem cell compartment. Although stem cells have the potential to differentiate into multiple lineages, their progeny follow a more restricted number of lineages in undamaged epidermis as a result of local microenvironmental cues. The response of the epidermis to a particular signal depends on signal strength and duration. Recent advances in the field have led to elucidation of the mechanisms by which stem cells are maintained and the pathways that interact with Wnt signalling to specify lineage choice as cells leave the stem cell compartment. This work has also yielded new insights into skin tumour development.
哺乳动物的表皮是研究成体干细胞特性的极易获取的组织。全基因组表达谱分析揭示了干细胞区室的新标志物和调节因子。尽管干细胞有分化为多种谱系的潜力，但由于局部微环境信号的作用，其后代在未受损的表皮中遵循的谱系数量更为有限。表皮对特定信号的反应取决于信号强度和持续时间。该领域的最新进展已阐明了干细胞维持机制以及细胞离开干细胞区室时与Wnt信号相互作用以确定谱系选择的途径。这项工作也为皮肤肿瘤的发展提供了新的见解。
