Access

Letters to Nature

Nature 416, 854-860 (25 April 2002) | doi:10.1038/416854a; Received 19 November 2001; Accepted 27 February 2002

Dominant role of the niche in melanocyte stem-cell fate determination

Emi K. Nishimura1,2,3, Siobhán A. Jordan4, Hideo Oshima3,5, Hisahiro Yoshida1, Masatake Osawa6, Mariko Moriyama6, Ian J. Jackson4, Yann Barrandon5, Yoshiki Miyachi2 & Shin-Ichi Nishikawa1,6

  1. Department of Molecular Genetics and Department of Dermatology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Shogoin Kawaharacho 53, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan
  2. MRC Human Genetics Unit, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK
  3. Ecole Nomale Supérieure, 46 rue d'Ulm, Paris 75230, Cedex 05, France
  4. Riken Center for Developmental Biology, Minatojima-minamicho 2-2-3, Chuo-ku, Kobe, 650-0047, Japan
  5. Present addresses: Division of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Dana 630A, 44 Binney Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA (E.K.N.); Department of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, St Marianna University School of Medicine, 2-16-1 Sugao Miyamae-ku, Kawasaki, 216-8511, Japan (H.O.).

Correspondence to: Shin-Ichi Nishikawa1,6 Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to S-I.N. (e-mail: Email: snishika@virus.kyoto-u.ac.jp).

Top

Stem cells—which have the capacity to self-renew and generate differentiated progeny—are thought to be maintained in a specific environment known as a niche1, 2, 3. The localization of the niche, however, remains largely obscure for most stem-cell systems. Melanocytes (pigment cells) in hair follicles proliferate and differentiate closely coupled to the hair regeneration cycle4. Here we report that stem cells of the melanocyte lineage can be identified, using Dct-lacZ transgenic mice5, 6, in the lower permanent portion of mouse hair follicles throughout the hair cycle. It is only the population in this region that fulfils the criteria for stem cells, being immature, slow cycling, self-maintaining and fully competent in regenerating progeny on activation at early anagen (the growing phase of hair follicles). Induction of the re-pigmentation process in K14-steel factor transgenic mice7 demonstrates that a portion of amplifying stem-cell progeny can migrate out from the niche and retain sufficient self-renewing capability to function as stem cells after repopulation into vacant niches. Our data indicate that the niche has a dominant role in the fate determination of melanocyte stem-cell progeny.