Department of Pathogen, Infection and Immunity, Nara Medical University, 840 Shijo-cho, Kashihara, Nara, 634-8521, Japan.
Genome Information Research Center, Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, Japan.
Sci Rep. 2022 Jun 30;12(1):11011. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-15354-9.
Hair follicle epithelial stem cells (HFSCs), which exist in the bulge region, have important functions for homeostasis of skin as well as hair follicle morphogenesis. Although several methods for isolation of HFSCs using a variety of stem cell markers have been reported, few investigations regarding culture methods or techniques to yield long-term maintenance of HFSCs in vitro have been conducted. In the present study, we screened different types of commercially available culture medium for culturing HFSCs. Among those tested, one type was shown capable of supporting the expression of stem cell markers in cultured HFSCs. However, both the differentiation potential and in vivo hair follicle-inducing ability of HFSCs serially passaged using that optimal medium were found to be impaired, probably because of altered responsiveness to Wnt signaling. The changes noted in HFSCs subjected to a long-term culture suggested that the Wnt signaling-related environment must be finely controlled for maintenance of the cells.
毛囊上皮干细胞（HFSCs）存在于隆起部位，对于皮肤的内稳态和毛囊形态发生具有重要功能。尽管已经报道了使用各种干细胞标记物分离 HFSCs 的几种方法，但关于体外长期维持 HFSCs 的培养方法或技术的研究很少。在本研究中，我们筛选了不同类型的市售培养基用于培养 HFSCs。在测试的培养基中，有一种类型能够支持培养的 HFSCs 中干细胞标记物的表达。然而，使用这种最佳培养基连续传代的 HFSCs 的分化潜力和体内毛囊诱导能力都受到了损害，这可能是由于对 Wnt 信号的反应发生了改变。长期培养的 HFSCs 发生的变化表明，必须精细控制与 Wnt 信号相关的环境，以维持细胞的状态。
