Bulge Region as a Putative Hair Follicle Stem Cells Niche: A Brief Review

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Abstract

Background:

Hair follicle stem cells exist in different sites. Most of the hair follicle stem cells are reside in niche called bulge. Bulge region is located between the opening of sebaceous gland and the attachment site of the arrector pili muscle.

Methods:

Data were collected using databases and resources of PubMed, Web of Science, Science Direct, Scopus, MEDLINE and their references from the earliest available published to identify English observational studies on hair follicle bulge region.

Results:

Bulge stem cells are pluripotent with high proliferative capacity. Specific markers allow the bulge cells to be isolated from mouse or human hair follicle. Stem cells isolated from bulge region are label retaining and slow cycling hence these cells are defined as label-retaining cells. Bulge cell populations, due to their plasticity nature are able to differentiate into distinct linage and could contribute in tissue regeneration.

Conclusion:

The current review discuss about bulge stem cells characteristics and biology including their cycle, location, plasticity, specific markers and regenerative nature. Also the differences between mouse and human hair follicles are investigated.

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Most cited references 37

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Label-retaining cells reside in the bulge area of pilosebaceous unit: implications for follicular stem cells, hair cycle, and skin carcinogenesis.

George Cotsarelis, Tung-Tien Sun, Robert Lavker (1990)

Inconsistent with the view that hair follicle stem cells reside in the matrix area of the hair bulb, we found that label-retaining cells exist exclusively in the bulge area of the mouse hair follicle. The bulge consists of a subpopulation of outer root sheath cells located in the midportion of the follicle at the arrector pili muscle attachment site. Keratinocytes in the bulge area are relatively undifferentiated ultrastructurally. They are normally slow cycling, but can be stimulated to proliferate transiently by TPA. Located in a well-protected and nourished environment, these cells mark the lower end of the "permanent" portion of the follicle. Our findings, plus a reevaluation of the literature, suggest that follicular stem cells reside in the bulge region, instead of the lower bulb. This new view provides insights into hair cycle control and the possible involvement of hair follicle stem cells in skin carcinogenesis.

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Self-renewal, multipotency, and the existence of two cell populations within an epithelial stem cell niche.

Cedric Blanpain, William E Lowry, Andrea Geoghegan … (2004)

In adult skin, each hair follicle contains a reservoir of stem cells (the bulge), which can be mobilized to regenerate the new follicle with each hair cycle and to reepithelialize epidermis during wound repair. Here we report new methods that permit their clonal analyses and engraftment and demonstrate the two defining features of stem cells, namely self-renewal and multipotency. We also show that, within the bulge, there are two distinct populations, one of which maintains basal lamina contact and temporally precedes the other, which is suprabasal and arises only after the start of the first postnatal hair cycle. This spatial distinction endows them with discrete transcriptional programs, but surprisingly, both populations are growth inhibited in the niche but can self-renew in vitro and make epidermis and hair when grafted. These findings suggest that the niche microenvironment imposes intrinsic "stemness" features without restricting the establishment of epithelial polarity and changes in gene expression.

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Dominant role of the niche in melanocyte stem-cell fate determination.

Emi K Nishimura, Siobhán A Jordan, Hideo Oshima … (2002)

Stem cells which have the capacity to self-renew and generate differentiated progeny are thought to be maintained in a specific environment known as a niche. The localization of the niche, however, remains largely obscure for most stem-cell systems. Melanocytes (pigment cells) in hair follicles proliferate and differentiate closely coupled to the hair regeneration cycle. Here we report that stem cells of the melanocyte lineage can be identified, using Dct-lacZ transgenic mice, in the lower permanent portion of mouse hair follicles throughout the hair cycle. It is only the population in this region that fulfils the criteria for stem cells, being immature, slow cycling, self-maintaining and fully competent in regenerating progeny on activation at early anagen (the growing phase of hair follicles). Induction of the re-pigmentation process in K14-steel factor transgenic mice demonstrates that a portion of amplifying stem-cell progeny can migrate out from the niche and retain sufficient self-renewing capability to function as stem cells after repopulation into vacant niches. Our data indicate that the niche has a dominant role in the fate determination of melanocyte stem-cell progeny.

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Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Iran J Public Health

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Iran. J. Public Health

Journal ID (publisher-id): IJPH

Journal ID (pmc): IJPH

Title: Iranian Journal of Public Health

Publisher: Tehran University of Medical Sciences

ISSN (Print): 2251-6085

ISSN (Electronic): 2251-6093

Publication date (Print): September 2017

Volume: 46

Issue: 9

Pages: 1167-1175

Affiliations

[1. ] Physiology Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

[2. ] Dept. of Biology, University Campus 2, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran

[3. ] Dept. of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Karaj, Iran

[4. ] Dept. of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, Iran

[5. ] Dept. of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

[6. ] Dept. of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

[7. ] Anti-Microbial Resistance Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Author notes

[* ] Corresponding Author: Email: nobakht.m@ 123456iums.ac.ir

Article

Publisher ID: ijph-46-1167

PMC ID: 5632317

PubMed ID: 29026781

SO-VID: 7d87b4b7-99db-4adc-b168-a95475c3be36

License:

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Bulge Region as a Putative Hair Follicle Stem Cells Niche: A Brief Review

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Abstract

Background:

Methods:

Results:

Conclusion:

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Most cited references 37

Label-retaining cells reside in the bulge area of pilosebaceous unit: implications for follicular stem cells, hair cycle, and skin carcinogenesis.

Self-renewal, multipotency, and the existence of two cell populations within an epithelial stem cell niche.

Dominant role of the niche in melanocyte stem-cell fate determination.

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