Hair follicle dermal cells differentiate into adipogenic and
osteogenic lineages.
Jahoda CA, Whitehouse J, Reynolds AJ, Hole N.
School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, University of Durham,
Durham, UK.
The adult hair follicle dermal papilla (DP) and dermal sheath (DS)
cells are developmentally active cell populations with a proven role in
adult hair follicle-cycling activity and unique inductive powers. In
stem cell biology, the hair follicle epithelium has recently been the
subject of a great deal of investigation, but up to now, the follicle
dermis has been largely overlooked as a source of stem cells. Following
the sporadic appearance of muscle, lipid and bone-type cells in
discretely isolated follicle DP and DS cell primary cultures, we
demonstrated that cultured papilla and sheath cell lines were capable of
being directed to lipid and bone differentiation. Subsequently, for the
first time, we produced clonal DP and DS lines that had extended
proliferative capabilities. Dye exclusion has been reported to be an
identifying feature of stem cells; therefore, clonal papilla and sheath
lines with differing capacity to exclude rhodamine 123 were cultured in
medium known to induce adipocyte and osteocyte differentiation. Both DS-
and DP-derived clones showed the capacity to make lipid and to produce
calcified material; however, different clones had varied behaviour and
there was no obvious correlation between their stem cell capabilities
and dye exclusion or selected gene expression markers. As a highly
accessible source, capable of being discretely isolated, the follicle
has important potentially as a stem cell source for tissue engineering
and cell therapy purposes. It will also be interesting to compare
follicle dermal stem cell properties with the broader stem cell
capabilities discovered in skin dermis and investigate whether, as we
believe, the follicle is a key dermal stem cell niche. Finally, the
discovery of stem cells in the dermis may have implications for certain
pathologies in which abnormal differentiation occurs in the skin.
PMID: 14714566 [PubMed - in process]
osteogenic lineages.
Jahoda CA, Whitehouse J, Reynolds AJ, Hole N.
School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, University of Durham,
Durham, UK.
The adult hair follicle dermal papilla (DP) and dermal sheath (DS)
cells are developmentally active cell populations with a proven role in
adult hair follicle-cycling activity and unique inductive powers. In
stem cell biology, the hair follicle epithelium has recently been the
subject of a great deal of investigation, but up to now, the follicle
dermis has been largely overlooked as a source of stem cells. Following
the sporadic appearance of muscle, lipid and bone-type cells in
discretely isolated follicle DP and DS cell primary cultures, we
demonstrated that cultured papilla and sheath cell lines were capable of
being directed to lipid and bone differentiation. Subsequently, for the
first time, we produced clonal DP and DS lines that had extended
proliferative capabilities. Dye exclusion has been reported to be an
identifying feature of stem cells; therefore, clonal papilla and sheath
lines with differing capacity to exclude rhodamine 123 were cultured in
medium known to induce adipocyte and osteocyte differentiation. Both DS-
and DP-derived clones showed the capacity to make lipid and to produce
calcified material; however, different clones had varied behaviour and
there was no obvious correlation between their stem cell capabilities
and dye exclusion or selected gene expression markers. As a highly
accessible source, capable of being discretely isolated, the follicle
has important potentially as a stem cell source for tissue engineering
and cell therapy purposes. It will also be interesting to compare
follicle dermal stem cell properties with the broader stem cell
capabilities discovered in skin dermis and investigate whether, as we
believe, the follicle is a key dermal stem cell niche. Finally, the
discovery of stem cells in the dermis may have implications for certain
pathologies in which abnormal differentiation occurs in the skin.
PMID: 14714566 [PubMed - in process]