Fig. 2.
The HF stem cell and the mesenchymal cell compartment is RANK-signaling independent. (A) Identification of CD34+ bulge (B) and P-cadherin+ SHG cells in Rankl−/− and control telogen HFs by immunofluorescence. Nuclei were colored with DAPI. (Scale bars, 20 μm.) (B Left) Flow cytometry of CD34+ bulge cells among keratin 14+ keratinocytes in Rankl−/− and WT telogen HFs. Arrows point to CD34+ keratin 14+ cells. (Right) Graph depicts the percentage of CD34+ and keratin 14+ cells in three KO mice and littermate controls (*P < 0.05). (C) Identification of follicular DP by their alkaline phosphatase activity. (Scale bars, 20 μm.) (D) Restored Rankl−/− hair renewal after transplantation onto nude mice at week 3 and analysis at week 6. A Rankl−/− skin section shows HFs in anagen. Image is representative for five transplantation experiments. (Scale bar, 100 μm.) The paraffin-embedded section was stained with hematoxylin/eosin.