Shintaro Tanimura, Yuko Tadokoro, Ken Inomata, Nguyen Thanh Binh, Wataru Nishie, Satoshi Yamazaki, Hiromitsu Nakauchi, Yoshio Tanaka, James R McMillan, Daisuke Sawamura, Kim Yancey, Hiroshi Shimizu, Emi K Nishimura
In most stem cell systems, the organization of the stem cell niche and the anchoring matrix required for stem cell maintenance are largely unknown. We report here that collagen XVII (COL17A1/BP180/BPAG2), a hemidesmosomal transmembrane collagen, is highly expressed in hair follicle stem cells (HFSCs) and is required for the maintenance not only of HFSCs but also of melanocyte stem cells (MSCs), which do not express Col17a1 but directly adhere to HFSCs. Mice lacking Col17a1 show premature hair graying and hair loss...
February 4, 2011: Cell Stem Cell