In Vitro Culture of Murine Fetal Epidermal Stem Cells and Its Relationship With the Regeneration of Hair Follicles

The study successfully isolated and cultured murine fetal epidermal stem cells (ESCs) and folliculus pili cells (FPCs) in vitro, demonstrating their potential in hair follicle regeneration. High levels of β1-integrin and keratin 15 were expressed in ESCs, indicating their stem cell characteristics. The cell cycle analysis showed a slow cycle with 94.9% of ESCs in the G1 stage. The clony forming efficiency (CFE) of ESCs was 15.3%, significantly higher than the control group's 6.7%. When ESCs were cografted with FPCs-gel onto full skin loss wounds in BALB/C nude mice, new hair follicles formed within 8-10 weeks, unlike in the control group, suggesting that ESCs could contribute to hair follicle structure formation under FPCs' influence.