論文紹介著者

Liu Ying（博士課程 1年）
GCOE　RA
Department of Ophthalmology

第一著者名・掲載雑誌・号・掲載年月

Catherine P. Lu／cell 150, 136-150, July 6, 2012

文献の英文表記：著者名・論文の表題・雑誌名・巻・号・ページ・発行年（西暦）

Catherine P. Lu, Lisa Polak, Ana Sofia Rocha, H. Amalia Pasolli, Shann-Ching Chen, Neha Sharma, Cedric Blanpain, and Elaine Fuchs. Identification of Stem Cell Populations in Sweat Glands and Ducts Reveals Roles in Homeostasis and Wound Repair. CELL. 150, 136-150, July 6, 2012

論文解説

Highlights

• Populations of unipotent stem cells maintain adult homeostasis in glabrous skin
• Depending on the mode of injury, each stem cell type responds differently but unipotently
• Sweat duct basal cells and gland myoepithelial cells are multipotent when engrafted
• Sweat and mammary gland stem cells differ in transcription and tissue regeneration patterns

Sweat glands are the most common glands in the body, and they regulate body temperature to avoid hyperthermia, stroke, and death. Recently, Catherine et al. developed a strategy for the purification and molecular characterization of three different stem cell populations that constitute the complex sweat ducts and glands of the skin. The three stem cell populations respond distinctly to different types of skin injuries and to engraftments in a variety of foreign environments.

Sweat ductal and epidermal progenitors (Figure 1: in red) proliferate and repair epidermal scratch wounds; sweat gland progenitors (in blue and green) show no signs of proliferation to this type of wound, but they respond to deep glandular wounds.

Using the iodine/starch-based sweat test, the authors discovered that both the luminal and myoepithelial stem cells of adult sweat glands possess regenerative potential that can be elicited in response to localized injury (Figure 2). 7 days after DT treatment, dots resurfaced, indicating that sweat gland function had been restored. These results indicate the existence of two distinct types of resident unipotent stem cells.

The authors devised a strategy to fluorescently tag and sort the different populations of ductal and glandular cells. They then used this strategy to inject each cell population into different areas of female host recipient mice to examine the cells' responses to different environments. For example, when the researchers isolated adult stem cells from these differentiated areas, they found that the cells were still able to adapt somewhat, while retaining aspects of their specialized function. When adult sweat gland stem cells were inserted into mammary fat, the cells developed into sweat glands, but when the mouse was underwent pregnancy, those same glands were able to produce milk.

Conclusions

The authors discovered that sweat glands and ducts contain stem (progenitor) cells, which can help repair damaged adult glands. Their findings can be used to explore the causes of genetic disorders that affect sweat glands, as well as to discover potential treatment modalities for these conditions. This study not only illustrates how sweat glands develop and how their cells respond to injury, but also identifies stem cells within the sweat glands and sweat ducts that have the potential to differentiate into different tissue types.