Quiescent Tissue Stem Cells Evade Immune Surveillance

    February 2018 in “ Immunity ”
    Judith Agudo, Eun Sook Park, Samuel A. Rose, Eziwoma Alibo, Robert E. Sweeney, Maxime Dhainaut, Koichi S. Kobayashi, Ravi Sachidanandam, Alessia Baccarini, Miriam Mérad, Brian D. Brown
    TLDR Inactive stem cells in hair follicles and muscles can avoid detection by the immune system.
    The study concluded that quiescent tissue stem cells, particularly hair follicle stem cells (HFSCs) and muscle stem cells, evaded immune surveillance by downregulating MHC-I expression, a key component of the antigen presentation pathway. This immune evasion was linked to the transcription factor Foxc1 and the regulatory gene Nlrc5. Unlike fast-cycling stem cells, quiescent HFSCs and satellite cells avoided immune detection, which is crucial for tissue maintenance and repair. The findings suggested that this immune evasion mechanism could explain how hair follicles regenerate after immune attacks and might provide insights into how early cancer cells avoid immune surveillance.
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