The In Vitro Plasticity of Hair Follicle Dermal and Mesenchymal Stem Cells

The study explored the in vitro plasticity of stem cells from the hair follicle dermal sheath and dermal papilla, comparing them with bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells in rats. It found that hair follicle-derived stem cells shared similarities with mesenchymal stem cells, suggesting the follicle as a potential niche for mesenchymal-like stem cells. Both cell types could produce neural-like phenotypes under specific conditions, forming aggregates that expressed the neural stem cell marker nestin. Conditioned media from these aggregates influenced neural progenitor cells to differentiate towards the astrocytic lineage. However, dermal clones exhibited abnormal behavior, such as differential antigen expression, loss of fat differentiation potential, and extended proliferation, possibly due to transformation after extensive in vitro expansion, as indicated by their abnormal karyotype.