Keratin 15 Promoter Targets Putative Epithelial Stem Cells in the Hair Follicle Bulge

November 2003 in “ Journal of Investigative Dermatology ”

Yaping Liu, Stephen Lyle, Zaixin Yang, George Cotsarelis

TLDR The K15 promoter effectively targets stem cells in the hair follicle bulge.

The study investigated the keratin 15 (K15) promoter's role in targeting epithelial stem cells in the hair follicle bulge using K15/lacZ transgenic mice. It was found that K15 expression was age-dependent and correlated with keratinocyte differentiation levels, with strong expression in less differentiated cells in the neonatal epidermis and adult bulge area. The K15 promoter specifically targeted bulge cells, which are thought to be stem cells, throughout all hair cycle stages, with 92%±3% of K15/lacZ-positive cells being label-retaining, indicating a quiescent stem cell phenotype. This research provided a valuable tool for further studies on hair follicle biology, wound healing, and carcinogenesis.

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