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Updated: Nov 8, 2025
10:51
Isolation and Culture of Primary Mouse Keratinocytes from Neonatal and Adult Mouse Skin
Published on: July 14, 2017
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Key changes in chromatin mark mammalian epidermal differentiation and ageing
Christabel Thembela Dube1,2, Fathima Rifkhana Shah Jahan1, Chin Yan Lim1,3
1Epithelial Epigenetics and Development Laboratory, Skin Research Institute of Singapore, Singapore.
Epigenetics
|April 23, 2021
Summary
Epigenetic marks defining skin cell types during embryonic development are maintained into adulthood. Aged skin shows altered chromatin states, particularly reduced H4K16ac, impacting epidermal homeostasis.
Area of Science:
- Epigenetics
- Developmental Biology
- Dermatology
Background:
- Dynamic chromatin state shifts regulate embryonic epidermal development and differentiation.
- The long-term maintenance of embryonic epigenomes into adulthood and their alterations during skin aging remain unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the maintenance of embryonic epigenetic signatures in adult epidermis.
- To identify chromatin alterations associated with physiological skin aging.
Main Methods:
- Systematic profiling of five key histone modifications in young and aged mouse epidermis.
- Correlation analysis of chromatin states with cellular differentiation and aging.
Main Results:
- Histone modification patterns established during embryonic development are retained in adult basal and suprabasal epidermal cells.
- Specific histone marks (H3K4me3, H4K20me1, H4K16ac) characterize proliferative basal cells, while (H3K27me3, H4K20me3) mark differentiated suprabasal cells.
- Aged basal epidermis exhibits reduced H4K16ac, diminished H4K20me1, and increased variability in histone content, paralleling altered histone modifier expression.
Conclusions:
- Key histone signatures of epidermal differentiation are conserved from embryonic development to adult homeostasis.
- Epigenetic alterations in chromatin profiles contribute to physiological skin aging.
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