Nerve-stem cell crosstalk in skin regeneration and diseases

Jingyu Peng; Han Chen; Bing Zhang

doi:10.1016/j.molmed.2022.04.005

Nerve-stem cell crosstalk in skin regeneration and diseases

Trends Mol Med. 2022 Jul;28(7):583-595. doi: 10.1016/j.molmed.2022.04.005. Epub 2022 May 17.

Authors

Jingyu Peng¹, Han Chen¹, Bing Zhang²

Affiliations

¹ Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
² Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. Electronic address: zhangbing@westlake.edu.cn.

PMID: 35595610
DOI: 10.1016/j.molmed.2022.04.005

Abstract

Skin is the interface between the external environment and our body systems. It receives extensive innervation from the peripheral nervous system (PNS), which enables the skin to sense and respond to various stimuli such as touch and temperature. Recent studies have revealed unanticipated functions of cutaneous nerves in orchestrating stem cell behaviors and tissue regeneration. Diverse types of nerve fibers interact closely with different stem cell populations in the skin, specifying a nerve-derived niche for stem cell regulation. Here, we review recent discoveries on the nerve-stem cell crosstalk from tissue morphogenesis to regeneration and diseases, highlighting a key role of peripheral nerves in coupling stem cell activities with fluctuations from the inner body and the external world.

Keywords: nerve–stem cell interaction; peripheral nervous system; skin cancer; skin stem cells.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Humans
Nerve Regeneration* / physiology
Neural Stem Cells*
Peripheral Nerves
Peripheral Nervous System
Skin / innervation