Epidermal stem cells (EpiSCs) are mainly located at the basal layer of the epidermis. These cells repair minor injuries of the skin and replace dead skin cells. However, EpiSCs’ cannot heal severe wounds such as major burns or those from diabetes or hereditary disorders. In such cases, culturing the epidermal stem cells from the patient is possible and has yielded successful treatment options, such as laboratory-grown skin grafts. These grafts are synthesized using a patient’s own...

Organisms are capable of detecting and fixing nucleotide mismatches that occur during DNA replication. This sophisticated process requires identifying the new strand and replacing the erroneous bases with correct nucleotides. Mismatch repair is coordinated by many proteins in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes.
The Mutator Protein Family Plays a Key Role in DNA Mismatch Repair
The human genome has more than 3 billion base pairs of DNA per cell. Prior to cell division, that vast amount of genetic...

Skin is the first line of defense and encounters a variety of microbes. Some pathogenic strains are often the cause of a broad range of infections of the skin and other body systems. These conditions can affect people of all ages and may have different causes, including genetic factors, infections, autoimmune reactions, environmental factors, and lifestyle choices.
Gram-positive Staphylococcus spp. and Streptococcus spp. are responsible for many of the most common skin infections. However, many...