Isolation of Multipotent Nestin-Expressing Stem Cells Derived from the Epidermis of Elderly Humans and TAT-VHL Peptide-Mediated Neuronal Differentiation of These Cells

May 2013 in “ International Journal of Molecular Sciences ”

Hiroshi Kanno, Atsuhiko Kubo, Tetsuya Yoshizumi, Taro Mikami, Jiro Maegawa

multipotent stem cells epidermis nestin fibronectin CD34 outer root sheath hair follicles TAT-VHL peptide neuronal differentiation

TLDR Stem cells from elderly skin can become neurons, offering potential for brain therapy.

The study successfully isolated multipotent stem cells from the epidermis of elderly humans, identifying them as capable of sphere formation and expressing nestin, fibronectin, and CD34, but not keratin 15. These cells were located in the outer root sheath of hair follicles. The research demonstrated that TAT-VHL peptide could induce neuronal differentiation of these cells in vitro, and this differentiation was confirmed in rodent brains using fluorescence immunohistochemistry. The findings suggested that these easily accessible stem cells could serve as promising donor cells for neuronal regenerative therapy.

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research Hair follicle stem cell marker nestin expression in regenerating hair follicles of patients with alopecia areata

6 citations , March 2011 in “European Journal of Dermatology”

The study investigated the expression of the stem cell marker nestin in hair follicle cycling in patients with alopecia areata. It was found that in normal human scalps, nestin-expressing cells were identifiable in the early and middle anagen phases of hair follicles. In patients with alopecia areata, middle anagen hair follicles showed nestin-positive and keratin 15 (K15)-negative cells, while degrading follicles had lymphocytic infiltration in nestin- and K15-negative dermal papilla cells. Importantly, the nestin-positive hair follicle pluripotent stem cell area (hfPSA) and K15-positive bulge areas were undamaged across all phases. Regenerating early anagen follicles also exhibited nestin-positive and K15-negative cells in the dermal papilla and surrounding the hair bulb, suggesting that nestin-positive cells were crucial in both the hfPSA and dermal papilla for hair follicle regeneration.