TLDR Hair follicle stem cells can become corneal-like cells with the help of pax6.
The study demonstrated that hair follicle bulge keratinocyte stem cells (KSCs) could transdifferentiate into corneal epithelial-like cells, highlighting their potential for therapeutic applications in bioengineered corneas. The transdifferentiation process was facilitated by the upregulation of pax6 and the downregulation of β-catenin and Lef-1. The research showed that bulge KSCs, isolated by collagen type IV adhesiveness, exhibited high colony formation efficiency and expressed specific markers such as CD34 and α6-integrin. When cultured in a conditioned medium containing corneal limbus soluble factors, these cells expressed keratin12, a specific marker of corneal epithelial cells. Overexpression of pax6 further induced the expression of k12 in bulge KSCs, suggesting a pivotal role of pax6 in this transdifferentiation process.
550 citations
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