Skin stem cells. In blue, a marker of the cell nucleus. In green, a marker for the Dnmt3a protein, which is critical to ensure that cells retain stem cell features. Credit: Lorenzo Rinaldi, IRB Barcelona
The proteins identified, Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b, are crucial for the self-renewal of skin stem cells as they trigger the first step of the genetic programme of these cells. “Without them, this programme is not activated and the stem cells collapse and disappear from the tissue,” explains Salvador Aznar Benitah, head of the Stem Cells and Cancer lab at IRB Barcelona. Our skin renews, heals wounds, and regenerates the hair that covers it thanks to a small group of stem cells. These cells continually produce new ones, which appear on the skin surface after a few days
Lorenzo Rinaldi, a “la Caixa” ...
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