Isolation, expansion, and differentiation of mouse skin-derived precursors

The isolation and experimental manipulation of multipotent precursors is of increasing therapeutic relevance. We recently reported the generation of cultures of Skin-derived Precursors ('SKPs'), multipotent cells that can be isolated from the dermis of embryonic, neonatal, and adult rodent skin (1), and from adult human skin (2) SKPs have similarities to stem cells of the embryonic neural crest (3), and differentiate into a variety of neural and mesodermal cell phenotypes, including peripheral neurons and glial cells, smooth muscle cells, bone, cartilage, and adipocytes (3-5). Here, we detail the establishment, propagation, neural differentiation, and immunocytochemical analysis of SKP cultures.