Vitamin A resolves lineage plasticity to orchestrate stem cell lineage choices. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38452090/)

These scientists wanted to understand how stem cells in our skin work to help us heal when we get hurt. They found that a special ability of these skin stem cells, called lineage plasticity, is really important. Lineage plasticity means that the stem cells can change into different types of cells depending on what the body needs.

The scientists discovered that if the skin stem cells don't have this ability to change, they can't help grow new hair or repair the skin when it's damaged. They used a special test to look for a molecule called retinoic acid that helps control this ability of the skin stem cells to change.

By doing many experiments in the lab and studying mice, the scientists learned that retinoic acid is like a key that helps the skin stem cells know what to do. It's made in certain places in the skin where the stem cells live, and the amount of retinoic acid there decides how the stem cells will act.

This study is important because it could help us find new ways to grow hair, heal wounds faster, and even treat some diseases like cancer in the future.

Tierney MT., Polak L., Yang Y., Abdusselamoglu MD., Baek I., Stewart KS., Fuchs E. Vitamin A resolves lineage plasticity to orchestrate stem cell lineage choices. Science. 2024 Mar 8;383(6687):eadi7342. doi: 10.1126/science.adi7342. Epub 2024 Mar 8.