Nature Biotechnology22, 411 - 417 (2004)
Published online: 14 March 2004; | doi:10.1038/nbt950
Capturing and profiling adult hair follicle stem cells
Rebecca J Morris1, 5, Yaping Liu2, 5, Lee Marles2, Zaixin Yang2, Carol Trempus3, Shulan Li1, Jamie S Lin2, Janet A Sawicki4
& George Cotsarelis2
1
Departments of Dermatology and Pathology, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York 10032, USA.
2
Department of Dermatology, Kligman Laboratories, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.
3
Cancer Biology Group, National Center for Toxicogenomics, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, USA.
4
Lankenau Institute for Medical Research, Wynnewood, Pennsylvania 19096, USA.
The hair follicle bulge possesses putative epithelial stem cells. Characterization of these cells has been hampered by the inability to target bulge cells genetically. Here, we use a Keratin1-15 (Krt1-15, also known as K15) promoter to target mouse bulge cells with an inducible Cre recombinase construct or with the gene encoding enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP), which allow for lineage analysis and for isolation of the cells. We show that bulge cells in adult mice generate all epithelial cell types within the intact follicle and hair during normal hair follicle cycling. After isolation, adult Krt1-15-EGFP-positive cells reconstituted all components of the cutaneous epithelium and had a higher proliferative potential than Krt1-15-EGFP-negative cells. Genetic profiling of hair follicle stem cells revealed several known and unknown receptors and signaling pathways important for maintaining the stem cell phenotype. Ultimately, these findings provide potential targets for the treatment of hair loss and other disorders of skin and hair.
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