Enrichment of Human Hair Follicle Stem Cells by Adhering to Type IV Collagen

The study demonstrated that human hair follicle stem cells could be enriched by selective adhesion to type IV collagen. Researchers cultivated human hair follicle outer root sheath (ORS) cells on type IV collagen-coated dishes and characterized them using immunofluorescent stains and flow cytometry. The results showed that approximately 22% of the cells adhered, with significant differences in the expression rates of K15, β1 integrin, and involucrin between two groups. The adherent cells exhibited a high nuclear to cytoplasmic ratio and fewer organelles. The colony-forming efficiency (CFE) was significantly higher in the adherent group (66.0±7.06%) compared to the non-adherent group (30.3±2.3%), indicating successful enrichment of hair follicle stem cells.