Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 13, 2026
10:52
Isolation of Adult Human Dermal Fibroblasts from Abdominal Skin and Generation of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Using a Non-Integrating Method
Published on: January 19, 2020
Isolation, characterization, and differentiation of human multipotent dermal stem cells.
Ling Li1, Mizuho Fukunaga-Kalabis, Meenhard Herlyn
1The Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Methods in Molecular Biology (Clifton, N.J.)
|March 14, 2013
Summary
Researchers isolated multipotent dermal stem cells (DSCs) from human neonatal foreskins. These neural crest stem-like cells self-renew and differentiate into multiple cell types, offering new avenues for regenerative medicine.
Area of Science:
- Stem cell biology
- Dermatology
- Regenerative medicine
Background:
- The skin is a key model for studying adult stem cells.
- Previous research primarily focused on hair follicle and keratinocyte stem cells.
- A need exists for novel stem cell sources with multipotent differentiation potential.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a protocol for isolating multipotent stem-like cells from human neonatal foreskin dermis.
- To characterize the self-renewal and differentiation capabilities of these newly identified dermal stem cells (DSCs).
- To investigate the expression of key stem cell markers in DSCs.
Main Methods:
- Isolation of dermal stem cells (DSCs) from human neonatal foreskins.
- Culturing DSCs in human embryonic stem cell medium to promote sphere formation.
- Assessing self-renewal and multipotency through differentiation into various cell lineages.
- Immunophenotypic analysis for neural crest stem cell and embryonic stem cell markers.
Main Results:
- Successful isolation and culture of multipotent neural crest stem-like dermal stem cells (DSCs).
- DSCs demonstrated self-renewal capacity and differentiated into melanocytes, neuronal cells, Schwann cells, smooth muscle cells, adipocytes, and chondrocytes.
- DSCs expressed neural crest stem cell markers (NGFRp75, nestin) and an embryonic stem cell marker (OCT4).
Conclusions:
- Human neonatal foreskin is a viable source for isolating multipotent dermal stem cells (DSCs).
- DSCs possess characteristics of neural crest stem cells and exhibit broad differentiation potential.
- These findings open new possibilities for using DSCs in regenerative medicine and disease modeling.
Related Concept Videos
01:06Multipotency and Niche of Bulge Stem Cell
A hair follicle or HF is a small part of the skin that produces the hair shaft. Paul Gerson Unna was the first to observe a bulge in the human hair follicle's outer root sheath (ORS). The bulge is present between the sebaceous gland and the arrector pili muscle and is the niche for hair follicle stem cells (HFSCs). The bulge is also a niche for melanocyte stem cells, and their loss results in graying of hair. The HFSCs express Sox9 and Lhx2, which help them maintain stemness and prevent...
01:17Stem Cell Culture
Stem cell research aims to find ways to use stem cells to regenerate and repair cellular damage. Over time, most adult cells undergo the wear and tear of aging and lose their ability to divide and repair themselves. Stem cells do not display a particular morphology or function. Adult stem cells, which exist as a small subset of cells in most tissues, keep dividing and can differentiate into a number of specialized cells generally formed by that tissue. These cells enable the body to renew and...