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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 18, 2026

Isolation and Culture of Neural Crest Stem Cells from Human Hair Follicles

Isolation and Culture of Neural Crest Stem Cells from Human Hair Follicles

Published on: April 6, 2013

Mapping stem cell activities in the feather follicle.

Zhicao Yue¹, Ting-Xin Jiang, Randall Bruce Widelitz

¹Department of Pathology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90033, USA.

|December 16, 2005

Summary

Feather follicles house distinct stem cell populations, including label-retaining cells (LRCs), that dynamically shift niches during feather regeneration. These multipotent LRCs are crucial for feather development and complex feather form construction.

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Area of Science:

Developmental biology
Evolutionary biology
Stem cell biology

Background:

Hair and feather follicles exhibit remarkable regenerative capabilities, renewing epithelial structures.
Feather and hair follicle evolution are independent convergent events, lacking direct anatomical homology.
The localization of stem cells in feather follicles remains unclear due to the absence of a hair follicle bulge equivalent.

Purpose of the Study:

To identify and characterize the stem cell populations within feather follicles.
To determine the localization and dynamics of stem cells during the feather cycle.
To investigate the potential of feather follicle stem cells in regeneration and feather morphogenesis.

Main Methods:

Long-term label retention assays to identify slow-cycling stem cells.
Cell transplantation experiments to assess stem cell multipotency.
DiI tracing and microscopy to map stem cell distribution and dynamics.

Main Results:

Feather follicles contain distinct stem cell populations: label-retaining cells (LRCs), transient amplifying cells, and differentiating keratinocytes.
LRCs reside in specific niches: a 'collar bulge' during growth and a papillar ectoderm niche during molting.
Transplanted LRCs demonstrate multipotency, and their spatial organization (ring configuration) varies with feather symmetry.

Conclusions:

Feather follicle stem cell localization and dynamics are adapted to the feather cycle and follicle structure.
The plasticity of stem cell niches and LRC behavior are key to feather regeneration.
Stem cell topology contributes to the formation of diverse and complex feather structures.