Fibroblast depletion reveals mammalian epithelial resilience across neonatal and adult stages.

ABSTRACT: Regenerative organs, like the skin, depend on niche-stem cell interactions that sustain continuous cellular turnover. In cell culture, skin fibroblasts promote epidermal stem cell proliferation and differentiation. Yet, it remains elusive how fibroblasts regulate epidermal stem cell behaviors and differentiation in vivo. Here, we asked how fibroblast depletion may impact epidermal stem cell proliferation in the context of adult homeostasis. Surprisingly, we find that significant depletion of fibroblast density does not affect epidermal stem cell proliferative capacity during adult stages in vivo. We next probed earlier neonatal stages when skin is actively remodeling but found no change in epidermal stem cell proliferative capacity following fibroblast depletion. These result

SUBMITTER: Gaeta IM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12324404 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature