Abstract
Although mouse models have been used as an essential tool for studying the physiology and diseases of the skin, propagation of mouse primary epidermal keratinocytes remains challenging. In this chapter, we introduce the simplest, at least to our knowledge, protocol that enables long-term expansion of p63+ mouse epidermal keratinocytes in low Ca2+ media without the need of progenitor cell-purification steps or support by a feeder cell layer. Pharmacological inhibition of TGF-β signaling in crude preparations of mouse epidermis robustly increases proliferative capacity of p63+ epidermal progenitor cells, while preserving their ability to differentiate. Suppression of TGF-β signaling also permits p63+ epidermal keratinocytes to form macroscopically large clones in 3T3-J2 feeder cell co-culture. Suppression of TGF-β signaling also enhances the clonal growth of human keratinocytes in co-culture with a variety of feeder cells. This simple and efficient approach will not only facilitate the use of mouse models by providing p63+ primary epidermal keratinocytes in quantity but also significantly reduce the time needed for preparing the customized skin grafts in Green method.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Blanpain C, Fuchs E (2014) Stem cell plasticity. Plasticity of epithelial stem cells in tissue regeneration. Science 344:1242281
Donati G, Watt FM (2015) Stem cell heterogeneity and plasticity in epithelia. Cell Stem Cell 16:465–476
Green H (2008) The birth of therapy with cultured cells. Bioessays 30:897–903
Chua AW, Khoo YC, Tan BK, Tan KC, Foo CL, Chong SJ (2016) Skin tissue engineering advances in severe burns: review and therapeutic applications. Burns Trauma 4:3
Mcheik JN, Barrault C, Levard G, Morel F, Bernard FX, Lecron JC (2014) Epidermal healing in burns: autologous keratinocyte transplantation as a standard procedure: update and perspective. Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open 2:e218
Sun BK, Siprashvili Z, Khavari PA (2014) Advances in skin grafting and treatment of cutaneous wounds. Science 346:941–945
Rheinwald JG, Green H (1975) Serial cultivation of strains of human epidermal keratinocytes: the formation of keratinizing colonies from single cells. Cell 6:331–343
Barrandon Y, Green H (1987) Three clonal types of keratinocyte with different capacities for multiplication. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 84:2302–2306
Oshima H, Rochat A, Kedzia C, Kobayashi K, Barrandon Y (2001) Morphogenesis and renewal of hair follicles from adult multipotent stem cells. Cell 104:233–245
Senoo M, Pinto F, Crum CP, McKeon F (2007) p63 is essential for the proliferative potential of stem cells in stratified epithelia. Cell 129:523–536
Lichti U, Anders J, Yuspa SH (2008) Isolation and short-term culture of primary keratinocytes, hair follicle populations and dermal cells from newborn mice and keratinocytes from adult mice for in vitro analysis and for grafting to immunodeficient mice. Nat Protoc 3:799–810
Ha L, Ponnamperuma RM, Jay S, Ricci MS, Weinberg WC (2011) Dysregulated ΔNp63α inhibits expression of Ink4a/arf, blocks senescence, and promotes malignant conversion of keratinocytes. PLoS One 6:e21877. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0021877
Missero C, Di Cunto F, Kiyokawa H, Koff A, Dotto GP (1996) The absence of p21Cip/WAF1 alters keratinocyte growth and differentiation and promotes ras-tumor progression. Genes Dev 10:3065–3075
Paramio JM et al (2001) The ink4a/arf tumor suppressors cooperate with p21cip1/waf in the processes of mouse epidermal differentiation, senescence, and carcinogenesis. J Biol Chem 276:44203–44211
Chapman S, McDermott DH, Shen K, Jang MK, McBride AA (2014) The effect of Rho kinase inhibition on long-term keratinocyte proliferation is rapid and conditional. Stem Cell Res Ther 5:60. https://doi.org/10.1186/scrt449
King KE et al (2003) ΔNp63α functions as both a positive and a negative transcriptional regulator and blocks in vitro differentiation of murine keratinocytes. Oncogene 22:3635–3644
Liu X et al (2012) ROCK inhibitor and feeder cells induce the conditional reprogramming of epithelial cells. Am J Pathol 180:599–607
Mou H et al (2016) Dual SMAD signaling inhibition enables long-term expansion of diverse epithelial basal cells. Cell Stem Cell 19:217–231
Watabe T, Miyazono K (2009) Roles of TGF-β family signaling in stem cell renewal and differentiation. Cell Res 19:103–115
Shipley GD, Pittelkow MR, Wille JJ Jr, Scott RE, Moses HL (1986) Reversible inhibition of normal human prokeratinocyte proliferation by type beta transforming growth factor-growth inhibitor in serum-free medium. Cancer Res 46:2068–2071
Schmierer B, Hill CS (2007) TGF-β-SMAD signal transduction: molecular specificity and functional flexibility. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 8:970–982
Ikushima H, Miyazono K (2010) TGF-β signalling: a complex web in cancer progression. Nat Rev Cancer 10:415–424
Ghahary A, Marcoux Y, Karimi-Busheri F, Tredget EE (2001) Keratinocyte differentiation inversely regulates the expression of involucrin and transforming growth factor β1. J Cell Biochem 83:239–248
Suzuki D, Senoo M (2015) Dact1 regulates the ability of 3T3-J2 cells to support proliferation of human epidermal keratinocytes. J Invest Dermatol 135:2894–2897
Robertson IB, Rifkin DB (2013) Unchaining the beast; insights from structural and evolutionary studies on TGF-β secretion, sequestration, and activation. Cytokine Growth Factor Rev 24:355–372
Suzuki D, Pinto F, Senoo M (2017) Inhibition of TGF-β signaling supports high proliferative potential of diverse p63+ mouse epithelial progenitor cells in vitro. Sci Rep 7:6089. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-06470-y
Bullock AJ, Higham MC, MacNeil S (2006) Use of human fibroblasts in the development of a xenobiotic-free culture and delivery system for human keratinocytes. Tissue Eng 12:245–255
Sugiyama H, Maeda K, Yamato M, Hayashi R, Soma T, Hayashida Y, Yang J, Shirakabe M, Matsuyama A, Kikuchi A, Sawa Y, Okano T, Tano Y, Nishida K (2008) Human adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells as a novel feeder layer for epithelial cells. J Tissue Eng Regen Med 2:445–449
Rasmussen C, Thomas-Virnig C, Allen-Hoffmann BL (2013) Classical human epidermal keratinocyte cell culture. Methods Mol Biol 945:161–175
Skurk T, Ecklebe S, Hauner H (2007) A novel technique to propagate primary human preadipocytes without loss of differentiation capacity. Obesity 15:2925–2931
Lim X, Tan SH, Koh WL, Chau RM, Yan KS, Kuo CJ, van Amerongen R, Klein AM, Nusse R (2013) Interfollicular epidermal stem cells self-renew via autocrine Wnt signaling. Science 342:1226–1230
Acknowledgments
This study was supported by an R01AR066755 grant from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases of the National Institute of Health to M.S.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this protocol
Cite this protocol
Pinto, F., Suzuki, D., Senoo, M. (2019). The Simplest Protocol for Rapid and Long-Term Culture of Primary Epidermal Keratinocytes from Human and Mouse. In: Turksen, K. (eds) Epidermal Cells. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 2109. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/7651_2019_263
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/7651_2019_263
Published:
Publisher Name: Humana, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-0716-0250-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-0716-0251-5
eBook Packages: Springer Protocols