Study: Stem Cells Hint at ‘Pangenes’

Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine say adult stem cells found in one’s skin may provide clues to a new class of gene.

The researchers said they believe the genes, dubbed pangenes, govern a stem cell’s fate and delay future differentiation until the necessary time. Research into the molecular control of these genes could have major implications on tissue regeneration therapies, the team said.

The scientists found Pax3, a gene crucial to the embryonic development of cells that make and store pigments in skin and hair, is also expressed in adult stem cells in skin.

Our findings told us that a recapitulation of an embryonic program is occurring in resident stem cells in adult skin, said Jon Epstein, professor of medicine, Cardiovascular Division. These few rare stem cells were expressing genes that previously had only been known to be expressed in a developing embryo. That was the first clue that we were on to something new.

The study appears in the Feb. 24 issued of Nature.