Interfollicular epidermal stem cells: Boosting and rescuing from adult skin. Vol. 989 (pp. 1-9).

Epidermal stem cells isolation struggle remains, mainly due to the yet essential requirement of well-de fi ned
approaches and markers. The herein proposed methodology integrates an assemblage of strategies to
accomplish the enrichment of the interfollicular epidermal stem cells multipotent fraction and their subsequent
separation from the remaining primary human keratinocytes culture. Those include rapid adherence
of freshly isolated human keratinocytes to collagen type IV through the β 1-integrin ligand and Rho-
Associated Protein Kinase Inhibitor Y- 27632 administration to the cultures, followed by an immunomagnetic
separation to obtain populations based in the combined CD49f bri /CD71 dim expression. Flow
cytometry is the supporting method to analyze the effect of the treatments over the expression rate of early
epidermal markers keratins19/5/14 and in correlation to CD49f bri /CD71 dim subpopulations. The stepby-
step methodology herein described indulges the boosting and consecutive puri fi cation and separation
of interfollicular epidermal stem cells from human keratinocytes cultures.