TLDR Touch dome keratinocytes in adult skin have traits of different skin cell types.
The study investigates touch dome (TD) keratinocytes, specialized epidermal cells associated with Merkel cells (MCs), which can induce new hair follicles upon stimulation. Using scRNA-seq, researchers identified Tenascin-C (TNC) as a specific marker for TD keratinocytes. Lineage tracing showed that TNC-expressing TD keratinocytes maintain themselves as an independent epidermal compartment and can generate MCs after injury. Molecular analysis revealed that TD keratinocytes share transcriptional and chromatin similarities with interfollicular epidermal keratinocytes and certain molecular features with hair follicle keratinocytes. The study concludes that TD keratinocytes in adult skin exhibit characteristics of various epidermal lineages.
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