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Establishing a High Throughput Epidermal Spheroid Culture System to Model Keratinocyte Stem Cell Plasticity

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Re-assessing K15 as an epidermal stem cell marker.

Tammy-Claire Troy¹, Azadeh Arabzadeh, Kursad Turksen

¹Regenerative Medicine Program, Sprott Centre for Stem Cell Research at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, 501 Smyth Road-CCW5226, Ottawa, Ontario K1Y 8L6, Canada. ttroy@ohri.ca

Stem Cell Reviews and Reports

|March 5, 2011

Summary

Keratin 15 (K15) expression varies in the epidermis and hair follicles, indicating it reflects cell responsiveness rather than solely marking stem cells.

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Area of Science:

Dermatology
Cell Biology
Developmental Biology

Background:

Keratin 15 (K15) is an intermediate filament protein found in stratified epithelia.
K15 has been proposed as a stem cell marker, particularly in hair follicles.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the temporal and spatial distribution of K15 during epidermal development, hair follicle formation, and in injured or tumorigenic epidermis.
To assess the utility of K15 as a definitive marker for epidermal stem cells.

Main Methods:

Utilized peptide-specific antibodies to track K15 expression patterns.
Examined K15 localization during embryonic development (E12.5, E15.5, E14.5).
Analyzed K15 expression in models of acute epidermal injury, repair, and tumorigenesis.

Main Results:

K15 expression evolves during epidermal development, initially in basal cells and periderm, later throughout the basal layer.
In hair follicle morphogenesis, K15 is localized to the outer root sheath.
K15 shows dynamic changes in injured epidermis, with initial upregulation followed by downregulation and eventual re-establishment in the basal layer; it is mis-expressed and downregulated during tumorigenesis.

Conclusions:

K15 protein expression reflects basal-like cell activity and responsiveness to epidermal homeostasis disruption, not exclusively stem cell populations.
Caution is advised when using K15 as a sole marker for epidermal stem cells.
Further research is needed to understand K15's role and identify other markers for epidermal subpopulations.