据3月12日的《科学》杂志报道说,那些可产生出皮肤的所有不同细胞的干细胞实际上存在于毛囊之中。 因此人们有可能利用这些干细胞来帮助修复损伤或移植皮肤(例如为烧伤的患者)。 皮肤具有三类不同的细胞:毛囊细胞、皮脂腺细胞以及处于前两者之间的被称作毛囊间表皮的组织细胞。
人们相信,这三种类型细胞的干细胞能够产生出它们自己的细胞类型,但在此之前,可产生出所有这些细胞的最原始的干细胞是什么则一直是一个谜。
Hugo Snippert及其同僚如今显示,一种会表达Lgr6基因并以簇状存在于毛囊中的干细胞是原始的表皮干细胞。在发生皮肤损伤的成年小鼠中,包围着伤口的Lgr6干细胞会修复皮肤。
研究人员报告说,在长时间的伤口修复中,这些细胞会产生出新的表皮以及新的毛发。 (生物谷Bioon.com)
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干细胞专题
2010 干细胞应用与技术讲座
生物谷推荐原文出处:
Science DOI: 10.1126/science.1184733
Lgr6 Marks Stem Cells in the Hair Follicle That Generate All Cell Lineages of the Skin
Hugo J. Snippert,1,* Andrea Haegebarth,1,* Maria Kasper,2 Viljar Jaks,2 Johan H. van Es,1 Nick Barker,1 Marc van de Wetering,1 Maaike van den Born,1 Harry Begthel,1 Robert G. Vries,1 Daniel E. Stange,1 Rune Toftg?rd,2 Hans Clevers1,
Mammalian epidermis consists of three self-renewing compartments: the hair follicle, the sebaceous gland, and the interfollicular epidermis. We generated knock-in alleles of murine Lgr6, a close relative of the Lgr5 stem cell gene. Lgr6 was expressed in the earliest embryonic hair placodes. In adult hair follicles, Lgr6+ cells resided in a previously uncharacterized region directly above the follicle bulge. They expressed none of the known bulge stem cell markers. Prenatal Lgr6+ cells established the hair follicle, sebaceous gland, and interfollicular epidermis. Postnatally, Lgr6+ cells generated sebaceous gland and interfollicular epidermis, whereas contribution to hair lineages gradually diminished with age. Adult Lgr6+ cells executed long-term wound repair, including the formation of new hair follicles. We conclude that Lgr6 marks the most primitive epidermal stem cell.
1 Hubrecht Institute–KNAW (Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences) and University Medical Center Utrecht, Uppsalalaan 8, 3584 CT Utrecht, Netherlands.
2 Karolinska Institutet, Center for Biosciences and Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Novum, SE-141 57 Huddinge, Sweden.