Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 4, 2025

Establishing a High Throughput Epidermal Spheroid Culture System to Model Keratinocyte Stem Cell Plasticity
Published on: January 30, 2021
PGC-1s shape epidermal physiology by modulating keratinocyte proliferation and terminal differentiation
Simon-Pierre Gravel1,2,3, Youcef Ben Khalifa4, Shawn McGuirk1,2
1Department of Biochemistry, McGill University, Montréal, QC H3A 1A3, Canada.
Abstract:
Skin plays central roles in systemic physiology, and it undergoes significant functional changes during aging. Members of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma coactivator (PGC-1) family (PGC-1s) are key regulators of the biology of numerous tissues, yet we know very little about their impact on skin functions. Global gene expression profiling and gene silencing in keratinocytes uncovered that PGC-1s control the expression of metabolic genes as well as that of terminal differentiation programs. Glutamine emerged as a key substrate promoting mitochondrial respiration, keratinocyte proliferation, and the expression of PGC-1s and terminal differentiation programs. Importantly, gene silencing of PGC-1s reduced the thickness of a reconstructed living human epidermal equivalent. Exposure of keratinocytes to a salicylic acid derivative potentiated the expression of PGC-1s and terminal differentiation genes and increased mitochondrial respiration. Overall, our results show that the PGC-1s are essential effectors of epidermal physiology, revealing an axis that could be targeted in skin conditions and aging.
Related Concept Videos
Renewal of Skin Epidermal Stem Cells
Clinical Applications of Epidermal Stem Cells
Mitogens and the Cell Cycle
Cells of the Epidermis
The cells in all these layers except the stratum basale are called keratinocytes, a type of cell that manufactures and stores the protein keratin. The keratinocytes in the stratum corneum are dead and regularly slough away, being replaced by cells from...
Role Of Notch Signalling In Intestinal Stem Cell Renewal
Direct cell-to-cell contact is needed for the activation of Notch signaling. The signal is initiated when a notch ligand binds to a receptor on an adjacent cell, also...
Somatic to iPS Cell Reprogramming

