Mapping stem cell activities in the feather follicle

Zhicao Yue, Ting-Xin Jiang, Randall Bruce Widelitz and Cheng-Ming Chuong ()
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Zhicao Yue: University of Southern California
Ting-Xin Jiang: University of Southern California
Randall Bruce Widelitz: University of Southern California
Cheng-Ming Chuong: University of Southern California

Nature, 2005, vol. 438, issue 7070, 1026-1029

Abstract: Stem cells of a feather... Birds can produce feathers in a remarkable array of shapes, sizes and colours, from undifferentiated precursor cells. A mechanism that might help explain how such diversity is achieved has been identified in a study of the flight feathers of chickens. Three types of stem cells are present, and they migrate to specific positions in the feather follicle. It may be this physical rearrangement that dictates the different morphologies and orientations of the fully fledged feather. This type of distribution of stem cells contrasts to that seen in hair follicles, but in other ways the feather stem cells resemble those of the hair follicle, supporting the idea that feathers and hair arose independently from similar structures around 200 million years ago.

Date: 2005
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DOI: 10.1038/nature04222

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