Cell Death as an Architect of Adult Skin Stem Cell Niches

This document discusses the role of cell death in shaping the niches of adult skin stem cells (SCs), which are crucial for maintaining the epidermal barrier and hair follicles. It highlights that while apoptosis is the default, non-inflammatory cell death program in the skin, other forms of regulated necrotic cell death can provoke inflammation and impact SC functionality. The study reveals that dying cells, once thought to be merely a consequence of inflammation, can actually drive skin inflammation and tumor initiation. Keratinocytes (KCs) can act as non-professional phagocytes, removing apoptotic cells and influencing SC capacities. The document underscores the differential impact of various cell death modalities on skin SC populations, particularly in contexts of heightened SC activity, and their implications for injury repair, inflammatory skin disorders, and cancer.