SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

Figure S1 (jpeg 209K)

GW bodies colocalize with keratin 15 in the follicular bulge progenitor cells. (a) A schematic of a hair follicle. The bulge region (yellow) is located below the sebaceous gland and above the attachment site of the arrector pili muscle. (b) Using IIF techniques, mouse monoclonal antibodies to GW182 (green) were colocalized with a rabbit polyclonal antibody to keratin 15 (red) on a hair follicle within a section of normal human skin (grey box in Figure S1a). A control, stained with secondary antibody only, is shown on the right. Scale bar = 50 m.

Figure S2 (jpeg 251K)

The distribution of GW bodies in normal human skin. Monoclonal mouse anti-GW182 antibodies (green) were used to carry out IIF studies on normal human skin (left). GWBs were strongly localized to (a) the stratum basale and (b) the outer root sheath (ORS) of the hair follicle. GWBs were also observed in (c) the basaloid cells of the sebaceous glands and (d) the eccrine glands. Controls using secondary antibody only are shown on the right. Scale bar = 50 m.

Figure S3 (jpeg 186K)

GW bodies localize to regions containing highly proliferative, Ki67-positive cells. Immunohistochemical stains were performed on serial formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded skin sections using Ki67, a proliferation marker that stains the nuclei of cells in G1, S, G2 and early mitosis. Using a streptavidin-biotin peroxidase method, a mouse monoclonal anti-Ki67 was employed to stain Ki67-positive cells. Highly proliferative, Ki67-positive cells were observed within the GWB-containing structures of skin, including: (a) the basal layer of the epidermis, (b) the bulge region of the outer root sheath (ORS) of the hair follicle, (c) the basaloid cells of the sebaceous glands and (d) the clear cells of the eccrine glands. Scale bar = 50 m.