Apoptosis in Human Skin Development: Morphogenesis, Periderm, and Stem Cells

March 1994 in “ Developmental dynamics ”

Renata Polakowska, Mauro Piacentini, Russell Bartlett, Lowell A. Goldsmith, Anne R. Haake

apoptosis morphogenesis epidermis periderm cells keratinocytes DNA fragmentation transglutaminases bcl-2 gene hair follicles sweat glands stem cell marker terminal differentiation skin development cell death skin layers skin cells hair roots sweat producers cell marker

TLDR Apoptosis is essential for human skin development and forming a functional epidermis.

The study demonstrated that apoptosis was crucial in human skin development, particularly in the morphogenesis of the epidermis and its appendages. Embryonic and fetal-specific periderm cells and incompletely keratinized cells were replaced by differentiating keratinocytes to form a functional epidermis, with apoptosis involved in the deletion of these cells and remodeling of appendages. DNA fragmentation and transglutaminases indicated apoptosis, while the bcl-2 gene, associated with cell survival, was expressed in hair follicles and sweat glands, suggesting it might be a stem cell marker. The study highlighted that terminal differentiation of epidermal cells could be considered a specialized form of apoptosis.