Thymus Cells Transform Into Skin Cells in Swiss Laboratory

Taking one type of cell and transforming it into another type is now possible. Cells taken from the thymus have been transformed into skin cells -- a discovery that may have important ramifications for the field of organ regeneration.

The findings, published on the 19th of August in Nature, show that these stem cells change their genetic make-up according to their environment to contribute to the long-term functioning of the skin, even producing hair for up to a year after implantation.

Until now it was believed that germ layer boundaries could not be crossed - that cells originating in one germ layer could not develop into cells associated with one of the others.

This latest research shows that thymus cells, originating from the endoderm, can turn in to skin stem cells, which originate from the ectoderm origin. This suggests germ layer boundaries are less absolute than previously thought.

For more information:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/08/100818131605.htm

Original paper:

Paola Bonfanti, Stéphanie Claudinot, Alessandro W. Amici, Alison Farley, C. Clare Blackburn, Yann Barrandon. Microenvironmental reprogramming of thymic epithelial cells to skin multipotent stem cells. Nature, 2010; 466 (7309): 978 DOI: 10.1038/nature09269