Faculty Opinions Recommendation of Nonviral In Situ Green Fluorescent Protein Labeling and Culture of Primary, Adult Human Hair Follicle Epithelial Progenitor Cells

    October 2009 in “ Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature ”
    Manabu Ohyama
    TLDR Researchers developed a method to label and study human hair follicle stem cells using a fluorescent protein.
    The article demonstrated that by cloning the human K15 promoter before a GFP/geneticin-resistance cassette and transfecting microdissected, organ-cultured adult human scalp hair follicles, researchers could achieve specific GFP expression in the stem cell-rich bulge region. This allowed for the visualization and selection of K15-GFP+ progenitor cells based on their fluorescence, adhesion properties, and geneticin resistance. These cells expressed epithelial progenitor markers, exhibited the gene expression profile of human bulge epithelium, and formed holoclones. This method of nonretroviral GFP labeling facilitated the study and manipulation of human epithelial stem cells and was suggested to be applicable to other complex human tissues.
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