Characterization, isolation, and differentiation of murine skin cells expressing hematopoietic stem cell markers.

As the phenotype of adult dermal stem cells is still elusive, and the hematopoietic stem cell is one of the best-characterized stem cells in the body, we tested dermal cell suspensions, sections, and wholemounts in newborn and adult mice for hematopoietic stem cell marker expression. Phenotypic analysis revealed that a small population of CD45(+) cells and a large population of CD45(-) cells expressed CD34, CD117, and stem cell antigen-1 molecules. When cultivated in selected media supplemented with hematopoietic cytokines, total dermal cells, lineage(-), and/or highly enriched phenotypically defined cell subsets produced hematopoietic and nonhematopoietic colonies. When injected into lethally irradiated recipient mice, a small percentage of newborn dermal cells was able to migrate into hematopoietic tissues and the skin and survived through the 11-month monitoring period. Our ability to isolate a candidate autologous stem cell pool will make these cells ideal vehicles for genetic manipulation and gene therapy.