Analysis of cell characterization using cell surface markers in the dermis.

Background: In recent years, it has been reported that stem cells exist in the mesenchymal tissues of the bone marrow and adipose. These stem cells are thought to express specific cell surface markers such as CD44, CD54, CD105, CD90, and CD271 and have been confirmed to be pluripotent. Furthermore, although it has been reported that stem cells are also present in the dermis, their cell surface markers and characteristics are not fully understood.

Objective: To confirm the presence of stem cells in the dermis and their ability, employing the mesenchymal stem cell markers which have previously been reported as an indication.

Methods: We analyzed the percentages of CD44 (+), CD54 (+), CD90 (+), CD105 (+), and CD271 (+) cells in the dermis of neonatal mice (HR-1 mouse) by performing immunostaining and FACS. Secondly, we isolated each type of marker-positive and -negative cells from dermal tissues and evaluated their proliferation potential and their ability to differentiate into adipocytes, osteoblasts, and chondrocytes.

Results: According to the immunostaining and FACS results, we confirmed that stem cells that express CD44, CD54, CD90, CD105, and CD271 are present in the dermal tissues of neonatal mice. In addition, when we measured the proliferation and differentiation potentials of each type of marker-positive cells, it was revealed that cells expressing CD54 or CD271 have a high proliferation potential and are able to differentiate into adipocytes, osteoblasts, and chondrocytes.

Conclusions: These results indicated that dermal tissues contain stem cells that express CD44, CD54, CD90, CD105, and CD271 which are stem cell markers. More precisely, it was suggested that both CD54 (+) and CD271 (+) stem cells have high proliferation and differentiation potentials.