Canine hair‐follicle keratinocytes enriched with bulge cells have the highly proliferative characteristic of stem cells

This study identified and isolated highly proliferative keratinocytes in canine hair follicles, suggesting they are candidate epithelial stem cells. In vitro assays showed that follicular keratinocytes formed larger colonies than epidermal keratinocytes, indicating greater proliferative capacity. These cells exhibited immunoreactivity for CD34 and keratin 15, markers associated with stem cells in other species, particularly in the bulge area of hair follicles. This research provided the first evidence of canine epithelial stem cells, highlighting their potential similarity to those in mice and humans.