Enhanced proliferation and migration capability of epidermal stem cells by PRP and PDGF stimulation

Adult epidermal stem cells renew the epithelial compartment of the skin throughout life and are the most accessible of all adult stem cells. Isolation and culture epidermal stem cells in vitro can both benefit stem cell therapy and tissue-engineering study. In this study, we successfully isolated and cultured epidermal stem cells in vitro, and demonstrated for the first time that PRP and PDGF could promote epidermal stem cell proliferation and migration, which meant PRP and PDGF addition during epidermal stem cell culture can be regarded as an optimized condition to improve the number of harvested cells in a short time. Compared with epidermal stem cells treated with K-SFM medium and platelet-poor plasma, the differences showed in cells treated with PRP and PDGF including: CCK-8 assay showed that cell proliferation was enhanced about twice; the cell cycle analysis showed 7%~12% less cells were arrested in S and G2 phases; western blot assay suggested that PCNA expression was 7-10 times higher; transwell assay also demonstrated that cell migration capability enhanced 8-11 times. These results all proved that the application of PRP and PDGF in epidermal stem cell culture may promote stem cell therapy and tissue-engineered skin study by providing high quantity of seeded cells.