Abstract: Objective To identify the relationship between expression of hematopoeitic stem/progenitor cell(HSPC)-related gene HSPC016 and aggregative behavior of the dermal papilla cells of hair follicles. Methods The aggregated human dermal papilla cells, non-aggregated human dermal papilla cells and the human dermal fibroblasts were used in this study. Expression of HSPC016 mRNA was investigated in the three cell groups by intracellular mRNA hybridization in situ and RT-PCR. Results By in situ hybridization, it was shown that gene HSPC016 specifically expressed in the aggregated dermal papilla cells, but not in the non-aggregated human dermal papilla cells and human dermal fibroblasts. A 200bp fragment of target cDNA was amplified from RNAs of the aggregated human dermal papilla cells by RT-PCR, but could not from RNAs of other two cell lines. Conclusions Gene HSPC016 was specifically expressed in the aggregated dermal papilla cells, and expression of HSPC016 might be related to the differentiation and functions of dermal papilla cells.

Key words: Cell culture, Gene expression, Hematopoeitic stem/progenitor cell-related gene