Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
J Invest Dermatol. 2010 May;130(5):1227-36. doi: 10.1038/jid.2009.322. Epub 2009 Oct 15.
In this study, we demonstrate that we can isolate stem cells (SCs) with neural crest characteristics from the bulge area of cultured human hair follicles (HFs). These SCs can proliferate in situ and form spheroid structures attached to the bulge area of HFs, and they express immature neural crest cell markers but not differentiation markers. An expression profiling study showed that they share a similar gene expression pattern with murine skin immature neural crest cells. These human SCs are label-retaining cells and are capable of self-renewal through asymmetric cell division in vitro. They exhibit clonal multipotency that can give rise to myogenic, melanocytic, and neuronal cell lineages after in vitro clonal single cell culture. In addition, these SCs show differentiation potential toward mesenchymal lineages, and they can be differentiated into adipocyte, chondrocyte, and osteocyte lineages. Neuronal differentiation of these cells induces global gene expression changes with a significantly increased expression of neuron-associated genes. Differentiated neuronal cells can persist in mouse brain and retain neuronal differentiation markers. The presence of SCs with neural crest characteristics in HFs may offer new opportunities for the use of these cells in regenerative medicine.
在这项研究中，我们证明可以从培养的人毛囊（HF）的隆起区域分离出具有神经嵴特征的干细胞（SCs）。这些SCs 可以原位增殖并形成附着在 HF 隆起区域的球体结构，它们表达不成熟的神经嵴细胞标记物，但不表达分化标记物。表达谱研究表明，它们与人鼠皮肤不成熟的神经嵴细胞具有相似的基因表达模式。这些人源 SC 是标记保留细胞，能够通过体外不对称细胞分裂进行自我更新。它们表现出克隆多能性，在体外克隆单细胞培养后可产生肌源性、黑色素细胞和神经元细胞谱系。此外，这些 SC 显示出向间充质谱系分化的潜力，并且可以分化为脂肪细胞、软骨细胞和成骨细胞谱系。这些细胞的神经元分化诱导了全局基因表达变化，神经元相关基因的表达显著增加。分化的神经元细胞可以在小鼠大脑中持续存在并保留神经元分化标记物。HF 中具有神经嵴特征的SCs 的存在可能为这些细胞在再生医学中的应用提供新的机会。
