A subpopulation of mouse esophageal basal cells has properties of stem cells with the capacity for self-renewal and lineage specification

The esophageal epithelium is a prototypical stratified squamous epithelium that exhibits an exquisite equilibrium between proliferation and differentiation. After basal cells proliferate, they migrate outward toward the luminal surface, undergo differentiation, and eventually slough due to apoptosis...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of clinical investigation 2008-12, Vol.118 (12), p.3860-3869
Main Authors: Kalabis, Jiri, Oyama, Kenji, Okawa, Takaomi, Nakagawa, Hiroshi, Michaylira, Carmen Z, Stairs, Douglas B, Figueiredo, Jose-Luiz, Mahmood, Umar, Diehl, J Alan, Herlyn, Meenhard, Rustgi, Anil K
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Apoptosis
Biomedical research
Bromodeoxyuridine - chemistry
Cell Differentiation - physiology
Cell division
Cell Movement - physiology
Cell Proliferation
Cytokeratin
Disease Models, Animal
Epithelial cells
Epithelial Cells - cytology
Epithelial Cells - metabolism
Epithelium - metabolism
Esophageal Diseases - metabolism
Esophagus
Esophagus - cytology
Esophagus - metabolism
Fluorescent Dyes - chemistry
Mice
Physiological aspects
Properties
Stem cells
Stem Cells - cytology
Stem Cells - metabolism
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Summary:The esophageal epithelium is a prototypical stratified squamous epithelium that exhibits an exquisite equilibrium between proliferation and differentiation. After basal cells proliferate, they migrate outward toward the luminal surface, undergo differentiation, and eventually slough due to apoptosis. The identification and characterization of stem cells responsible for the maintenance of the esophageal epithelium remains elusive. Here, we employed Hoechst dye extrusion and BrdU label-retaining assays to identify in mice a potential esophageal stem cell population that localizes to the basal cell compartment. The self-renewing capacity of this population was characterized using a clonogenic assay and a 3D organotypic culture model. The putative esophageal stem cells were also capable of epithelial reconstitution in vivo in direct esophageal epithelial injury models. In both the 3D organotypic culture and direct mucosal injury models, the putative stem cells gave rise to undifferentiated and differentiated cells. These studies therefore provide a basis for understanding the regenerative capacity and biology of the esophageal epithelium when it is faced with injurious insults.
ISSN:0021-9738
1558-8238
DOI:10.1172/JCI35012