Bald scalp in men with androgenetic alopecia retains hair follicle stem cells but lacks CD200-rich and CD34-positive hair follicle progenitor cells
Luis A. Garza, Chao-Chun Yang, Tailun Zhao, Hanz B. Blatt, Michelle Lee, Helen He, David C. Stanton, Lee Carrasco, Jeffrey H. Spiegel, John W. Tobias, George Cotsarelis
Luis A. Garza, Chao-Chun Yang, Tailun Zhao, Hanz B. Blatt, Michelle Lee, Helen He, David C. Stanton, Lee Carrasco, Jeffrey H. Spiegel, John W. Tobias, George Cotsarelis
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Research Article Dermatology

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 KRT15hi stem cells were maintained in bald scalp samples. However, CD200hiITGA6hi and CD34hi 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 KRT15hi stem cells — were markedly diminished. In functional assays, analogous CD200hiItga6hi 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

Luis A. Garza, Chao-Chun Yang, Tailun Zhao, Hanz B. Blatt, Michelle Lee, Helen He, David C. Stanton, Lee Carrasco, Jeffrey H. Spiegel, John W. Tobias, George Cotsarelis

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Figure 3

CD200hiITGA6hi and CD34hi cells are distinct from KRT15hi stem cells and possess a progenitor cell phenotype.

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CD200hiITGA6hi and CD34hi cells are distinct from KRT15hi stem cells and...
(A–C) CD200hiITGA6hi cells were intermediate in KRT15 levels (A; n = 3), cell size (B; n = 6), and percent of cells in G0 (C; n = 2) compared with all basal-layer keratinocytes and with KRT15hi cells. (D) As an indication of their distinct identities, the majority of KRT15hi cells expressed almost no CD200 (n = 3). (E and F) CD34hi cells expressed low levels of KRT15 (E; n = 4) and were larger than KRT15hi cells (F; n = 4). FSC, forward scatter.