title: Segregation of keratinocyte colony-forming cells in the bulge of the rat vibrissa.
abstract: The epidermis and its related appendages such as the hair follicle constitute the epithelial compartment of the skin. The exact location and distribution of the keratinocyte colony-forming cells within the epidermis or its appendages are unknown. We report that in the rat vibrissa, keratinocyte colony-forming cells are highly clustered in the bulge-containing region. Approximately 95% of the total colonies formed in culture from fractionated vibrissae were in this location and fewer than 4% were located in the matrix area of the follicle. Finer dissection of the bulge-containing region located the colony-forming cells in the small part containing the bulge itself. The segregation of keratinocyte colony-forming cells in the bulge confirms the hypothesis that the bulge is the reservoir of the stem cells responsible for the long-term growth of the hair follicle and perhaps of the epidermis as well.
authors.affiliation: Départment de Biologie, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, France.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rochat
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Barrandon
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004847:Epithelial Cells; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D015603:Keratinocytes / Q000166:cytology*; D051381:Rats; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D014738:Vibrissae / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000166:cytology*