Fuchs E, Nowak J A
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Laboratory of Mammalian Cell Biology and Development, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York 10065, USA.
Cold Spring Harb Symp Quant Biol. 2008;73:333-50. doi: 10.1101/sqb.2008.73.032. Epub 2008 Nov 6.
The skin epidermis and its appendages provide a protective barrier that guards against loss of fluids, physical trauma, and invasion by harmful microbes. To perform these functions while confronting the harsh environs of the outside world, our body surface undergoes constant rejuvenation through homeostasis. In addition, it must be primed to repair wounds in response to injury. The adult skin maintains epidermal homeostasis, hair regeneration, and wound repair through the use of its stem cells. What are the properties of skin stem cells, when do they become established during embryogenesis, and how are they able to build tissues with such remarkably distinct architectures? How do stem cells maintain tissue homeostasis and repair wounds and how do they regulate the delicate balance between proliferation and differentiation? What is the relationship between skin cancer and mutations that perturbs the regulation of stem cells? In the past 5 years, the field of skin stem cells has bloomed as we and others have been able to purify and dissect the molecular properties of these tiny reservoirs of goliath potential. We report here progress on these fronts, with emphasis on our laboratory's contributions to the fascinating world of skin stem cells.
皮肤表皮及其附属器提供了一道保护屏障，可防止体液流失、物理创伤以及有害微生物的入侵。为了在面对外部世界的恶劣环境时履行这些功能，我们的体表通过稳态不断进行更新。此外，它必须做好准备以应对损伤进行伤口修复。成年皮肤通过其干细胞维持表皮稳态、毛发再生和伤口修复。皮肤干细胞有哪些特性，它们在胚胎发育过程中何时形成，以及它们如何构建具有如此显著不同结构的组织？干细胞如何维持组织稳态和修复伤口，以及它们如何调节增殖和分化之间的微妙平衡？皮肤癌与扰乱干细胞调控的突变之间有什么关系？在过去5年里，随着我们和其他人能够纯化并剖析这些具有巨大潜力的微小细胞库的分子特性，皮肤干细胞领域蓬勃发展。我们在此报告这些方面的进展，重点是我们实验室对迷人的皮肤干细胞世界所做的贡献。
