Multipotent stem cells are effectively collected from adult human cheek skin

Skin-derived precursor (SKP) cells are a valuable resource for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, because they represent multipotent stem cells that differentiate into neural and mesodermal progenies. Previous studies suggest that the stem cell pool decreases with age. Here, we show that human multipotent SKP cells can be efficiently collected from adult cheek/chin skin, even in aged individuals of 70–78 years. SKP cells were isolated from 38 skin samples by serum-free sphere culture and examined for the ability to differentiate into neural and mesodermal lineages. The number of spheres obtained from adult facial skin was significantly higher than that of trunk or extremity skin. SKP cells derived from cheek/chin skin exhibited a high ability to differentiate into neural and mesodermal cells relative to those derived from eyelid, trunk, or extremity skin. Furthermore, cheek/chin skin SKP cells were shown to express markers for undifferentiated stem cells, including a high expression level of the Sox9 gene. These results indicate that cheek/chin skin is useful for the recovery of multipotent stem cells for tissue engineering and regenerative therapy.

► Human adult facial skin is rich in skin-derived precursor (SKP) cells.
► Facial SKP cells can differentiate into neural and mesodermal cells.
► Facial SKP cells express undifferentiated stem cell markers, including Sox9.
► Facial skin is a useful source of stem cells for tissue engineering.