title: Epidermal stem cells: an update on their potential in regenerative medicine.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Adult epidermal stem cells are crucial for skin tissue regeneration during homeostasis and disease. Recent updates relating to the function, cellular role and properties of these cells have been published. Notably, a recent study showed that keratinocytes may possess a transcriptional profile that is more amenable to reprogramming and this may open new avenues for exploring novel strategies to create patient-specific cell therapies.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this paper, an overview of recent research pertaining to epidermal stem cells' properties and location, and their capacity for differentiation and transdifferentiation, as well as potential for tumorigenesis are presented.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  More efforts should be made to develop effective approaches to induce lineage conversion between different cell types and tailor the treatment to specific patient, while minimizing cancer risk.
authors.affiliation: Wound Healing and Cell Biology Laboratory, Institute of Basic Medical Science, Trauma Center of Postgraduate Medical School, Chinese PLA General Hospital, 28 Fu Xing Road, Beijing 100853 , P. R. China. fuxiaobing@vip.sina.com
authors.forename: Xiaoyan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Xiaobing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.forename: Weidong
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chalmers
mesh_terms: D053687:Adult Stem Cells / Q000473:pathology / Q000637:transplantation*; D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D019070:Cell Lineage; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D054338:Cell Transdifferentiation; D004817:Epidermis / Q000473:pathology / Q000637:transplantation*; D006801:Humans; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000473:pathology; D012038:Regeneration; D044968:Regenerative Medicine / Q000379:methods*; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects