據(jù)3月12日的《科學(xué)》雜志報道說,，那些可產(chǎn)生出皮膚的所有不同細(xì)胞的干細(xì)胞實際上存在于毛囊之中。 因此人們有可能利用這些干細(xì)胞來幫助修復(fù)損傷或移植皮膚（例如為燒傷的患者）,。 皮膚具有三類不同的細(xì)胞：毛囊細(xì)胞,、皮脂腺細(xì)胞以及處于前兩者之間的被稱作毛囊間表皮的組織細(xì)胞。
人們相信,，這三種類型細(xì)胞的干細(xì)胞能夠產(chǎn)生出它們自己的細(xì)胞類型,，但在此之前，可產(chǎn)生出所有這些細(xì)胞的最原始的干細(xì)胞是什么則一直是一個謎,。
Hugo Snippert及其同僚如今顯示,，一種會表達(dá)Lgr6基因并以簇狀存在于毛囊中的干細(xì)胞是原始的表皮干細(xì)胞。在發(fā)生皮膚損傷的成年小鼠中,，包圍著傷口的Lgr6干細(xì)胞會修復(fù)皮膚,。
研究人員報告說，在長時間的傷口修復(fù)中,，這些細(xì)胞會產(chǎn)生出新的表皮以及新的毛發(fā),。 （生物谷Bioon.com）
相關(guān)閱讀
干細(xì)胞專題
2010 干細(xì)胞應(yīng)用與技術(shù)講座
生物谷推薦原文出處：
Science DOI: 10.1126/science.1184733
Lgr6 Marks Stem Cells in the Hair Follicle That Generate All Cell Lineages of the Skin
Hugo J. Snippert,1,* Andrea Haegebarth,1,* Maria Kasper,2 Viljar Jaks,2 Johan H. van Es,1 Nick Barker,1 Marc van de Wetering,1 Maaike van den Born,1 Harry Begthel,1 Robert G. Vries,1 Daniel E. Stange,1 Rune Toftg?rd,2 Hans Clevers1,
Mammalian epidermis consists of three self-renewing compartments: the hair follicle, the sebaceous gland, and the interfollicular epidermis. We generated knock-in alleles of murine Lgr6, a close relative of the Lgr5 stem cell gene. Lgr6 was expressed in the earliest embryonic hair placodes. In adult hair follicles, Lgr6+ cells resided in a previously uncharacterized region directly above the follicle bulge. They expressed none of the known bulge stem cell markers. Prenatal Lgr6+ cells established the hair follicle, sebaceous gland, and interfollicular epidermis. Postnatally, Lgr6+ cells generated sebaceous gland and interfollicular epidermis, whereas contribution to hair lineages gradually diminished with age. Adult Lgr6+ cells executed long-term wound repair, including the formation of new hair follicles. We conclude that Lgr6 marks the most primitive epidermal stem cell.
1 Hubrecht Institute–KNAW (Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences) and University Medical Center Utrecht, Uppsalalaan 8, 3584 CT Utrecht, Netherlands.
2 Karolinska Institutet, Center for Biosciences and Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Novum, SE-141 57 Huddinge, Sweden.
