ABSTRACT
Stem cell in dermatology
M. Amer
Professor of Dermatology and Venereology, Medical School, Zagazig University
The hope that many diseases can someday be treated with stem cell therapy is inspired by the historical success of bone marrow transplants in increasing the survival of patients with leukaemia and other cancers, inherited blood disorders, and diseases of the immune system.
There is a growing body of evidence that HSCs (hematopoietic stem cell) are plastic-that, at least under some circumstances, there are able to participate in the generation of tissues other than those of the blood system. a few studies have shown that HSCs can give rise to liver cells. Those findings have scientists speculating about the biological response of HSCs to disease or tissue damage and about the early differentiation of the embryonic tissues into discrete layers.
Recently the scientific stem cells in the other organs of adult mice-including brain, muscle, skin, digestive system, cornea, retina, liver and pancreas-have cast a new light on the body’s own capability to replenish its tissues.
Their discovery has also fostered speculation that these cells exist in the adult human, that they have the characteristic of plasticity that enables them to change into precursors of cell types of other tissues, and that they will someday be used to produce the tissues for therapeutic use. The finding of stem cells in adult tissues, not all of which have been confirmed, offers a first glimpse at potential solutions to long-standing puzzles about why some human organs have a greater capacity for self-repair than others.
The role of microenvironment in promoting homing, engraftment and differentiation of bone marrow derived stem cells into skin cells have been studied and demonstrated.
Donor derived keratin positive cells where found in the epidermis of the skin as far 3 years after peripheral blood stem cell transplantation demonstrating that bone marrow cells can be programed into skin cells in human.
Moreover specified skin stem cells for the different epithelial lineages specifically epidermis, hair follicle and sebaceous glands are present in the skin.
Amer M.