Enrichment and Characterization of Human Dermal Stem/Progenitor Cells by Intracellular Granularity

In the 2013 study, researchers enriched human dermal stem/progenitor cells (hDSPCs) from normal human dermal fibroblasts using a cell sorting technique based on intracellular granularity. These cells, characterized by high side scatter (SSChigh), showed a three-fold increase in granularity compared to non-hDSPCs and represented less than 3.5% of total fibroblasts. SSChigh-hDSPCs exhibited robust proliferation, expressed high levels of stem cell markers SOX2 and S100B, and were capable of differentiating into both mesodermal and neuroectodermal cell types. The study concluded that SSChigh-hDSPCs are a distinct type of progenitor cell with significant potential for tissue repair and regeneration, and could be efficiently enriched using intracellular granularity. The findings were based on at least three independent experiments, ensuring the reliability of the results, and were supported by a grant from the Korea Healthcare Technology R&D Project.