Pericytes promote skin regeneration by inducing epidermal cell polarity and planar cell divisions

Abstract

The cellular and molecular microenvironment of epithelial stem/ progenitor cells is critical for their long-term self-renewal. We demonstrate that mesenchymal stem cell–like dermal microvascular pericytes are a critical element of the skin’s microenvironment influencing human skin regeneration using organotypic models. Specifically, pericytes were capable of promoting homeostatic skin tissue renewal by conferring more planar cell divisions generating two basal cells within the proliferative compartment of the human epidermis, while ensuring complete maturation of the tissue both spatially and temporally. Moreover, we provide evidence supporting the notion that BMP-2, a secreted protein prefe..