TLDR CK15 is not a reliable marker for stem cells in damaged hair follicles from patients with CCCA.
The study examined the expression of Cytokeratin 15 (CK15) in hair follicles of patients with central, centrifugal, cicatricial alopecia (CCCA) and found that while CK15 is a reliable marker for bulge zone (BZ) cells in normal follicles, its expression is lost in diseased follicles due to changes in the epithelium morphology. This suggests that CK15 should not be used as the sole marker for stem cells in CCCA research. The study involved 10 specimens from normal scalps, 23 from diseased CCCA scalps, and 8 from normal scalp areas of CCCA patients, indicating that CK15 expression is influenced by cellular morphology and may not be reliable for identifying stem cells in the context of cicatricial alopecia.
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