title: Bald scalp in men with androgenetic alopecia retains hair follicle stem cells but lacks CD200-rich and CD34-positive hair follicle progenitor cells.
abstract: Androgenetic alopecia (AGA), also known as common baldness, is characterized by a marked decrease in hair follicle size, which could be related to the loss of hair follicle stem or progenitor cells. To test this hypothesis, we analyzed bald and non-bald scalp from AGA individuals for the presence of hair follicle stem and progenitor cells. Cells expressing cytokeratin15 (KRT15), CD200, CD34, and integrin, α6 (ITGA6) were quantitated via flow cytometry. High levels of KRT15 expression correlated with stem cell properties of small cell size and quiescence. These KRT15(hi) stem cells were maintained in bald scalp samples. However, CD200(hi)ITGA6(hi) and CD34(hi) cell populations--which both possessed a progenitor phenotype, in that they localized closely to the stem cell-rich bulge area but were larger and more proliferative than the KRT15(hi) stem cells--were markedly diminished. In functional assays, analogous CD200(hi)Itga6(hi) cells from murine hair follicles were multipotent and generated new hair follicles in skin reconstitution assays. These findings support the notion that a defect in conversion of hair follicle stem cells to progenitor cells plays a role in the pathogenesis of AGA.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Kligman Laboratories, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.
authors.forename: Luis A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Garza
authors.forename: Chao-Chun
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Tailun
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Hanz B
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Blatt
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: David C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Stanton
authors.forename: Lee
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Carrasco
authors.forename: Jeffrey H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Spiegel
authors.forename: John W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Tobias
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cotsarelis
mesh_terms: D000505:Alopecia / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D000818:Animals; D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D018952:Antigens, CD34 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D018859:Hair Follicle / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D039503:Integrin alpha6 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D053569:Keratin-15 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D012535:Scalp / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D015703:Antigens, CD; D018952:Antigens, CD34; D039503:Integrin alpha6; C116015:KRT15 protein, human; D053569:Keratin-15; C492053:Krt15 protein, mouse; C042739:antigens, CD200