Culture and Characterization of Rat Hair Follicle Stem Cells
January 2016
TLDR Rat hair follicle stem cells can be successfully cultured and may be useful for creating tissue-engineered hair, vessels, and skin.
The study aimed to develop methods for isolating, culturing, expanding, and characterizing rat hair follicle stem cells (rHFSCs) from 1-week-old Sprague–Dawley rats. The researchers successfully cultured rHFSCs, which exhibited typical cobblestone morphology, good adhesion, and colony-forming ability. The cells expressed keratin 15, integrin α6, and integrin β1, and demonstrated a latent phase on days 1–2 and a logarithmic phase on days 5–6. Cell vitality decreased from the 7th passage. Real-time PCR confirmed the cells' vitality and proliferative capacity, with no keratinocytes present. The study concluded that highly purified rHFSCs could be obtained using tissue culture and adhesion to collagen IV, making them a potential cell source for tissue-engineered hair follicles, vessels, and skin.