Бэлгийн дааврын нөлөөгөөр эмэгтэй хулганы арьсны үүдэл эсүүд илүү уялдаатай ажиллаж, шархыг хурдан эдгээдэг болохыг эрдэмтэд илрүүлсэн байна.
Universite libre de Bruxelles (ULB) болон Cambridge-ийн их сургуулийн судлаачид амьд хулганы арьсан дээрх үүдэл эсийг таван сарын турш микроскопоор ажиглаж, арьсны нөхөн төлжилтийн үйл явцыг судалжээ. Судалгаагаар эмэгтэй хулганы арьсны эсүүд хоорондоо илүү зохион байгуулалттай, синхрончлогдсон байдлаар ажилладаг бол эрэгтэй хулганых бие даасан шинжтэй байдаг нь тогтоогдсон байна. Энэхүү ялгаа нь арьсны шарх эдгэрэх хурдад шууд нөлөөлдөг бөгөөд эмэгтэй хулганы шарх эхний өдрүүдэд илүү хурдан эдгэрч байжээ.
Судалгааны багийнхан эдгээр ялгаа нь бэлгийн даавруудтай холбоотой болохыг баталсан байна. Эрэгтэй хулганаас тестостероныг гадагшлуулахад арьсны эсүүд нь эмэгтэй хулганыхтай ижил төстэй шинж чанартай болж байсан бол эмэгтэй хулганаас өндгөвчийг авснаар эсүүдийн синхрончлол алдагдсан байна. Эстроген даавар нь үүдэл эсийн үржлийг дэмжиж, эсүүдийн харилцан уялдааг хангадаг бол тестостерон нь эсийн боловсрох хурдыг зохицуулдаг болох нь тодорхой болжээ.
Nature сэтгүүлд нийтлэгдсэн энэхүү судалгаа нь бэлгийн ялгаатай байдал нь зөвхөн нөхөн үржихүйн эрхтэн гэлтгүй бие махбодын бусад эд эсэд хэрхэн нөлөөлдгийг харуулж байна. Хэдийгээр хүний арьсан дээр хийсэн лабораторийн туршилт нь тестостерон эсийн боловсролтыг түргэсгэдэг болохыг баталсан ч, судалгааны үр дүнг хүн дээр бүрэн хэрэгжүүлэхийн тулд нэмэлт судалгаа шаардлагатай гэж судлаачид үзэж байна.
Энэхүү нээлт нь чихрийн шижин өвчтэй хүмүүсийн арьсны архаг шархыг эмчлэх, түлэгдэл болон мэс заслын дараах нөхөн сэргээх эмчилгээг илүү хувьчилсан аргаар хөгжүүлэх боломжийг нээж өгч байна. Мөн арьсны хорт хавдрын урьдчилан сэргийлэлт болон үрэвсэлт өвчний эмчилгээнд бэлгийн ялгаатай байдлыг харгалзан үзэх нь чухал ач холбогдолтой болохыг профессор Седрик Бланпэйн тэргүүтэй багийнхан онцолжээ.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
Female mice heal skin wounds faster than males, and scientists have uncovered a surprising biological difference that may help explain why. By watching skin stem cells in living mice for five months, researchers found that female cells work together in a more coordinated way, while male cells tend to behave more independently. These differences are regulated by sex hormones and could eventually help scientists develop more personalized treatments for wound healing and skin diseases.
The discovery comes from researchers at the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), working with scientists at the University of Cambridge. Their findings suggest that biological sex influences how skin renews and repairs itself, even though the skin is not part of the reproductive system.
Historically, much of the research into biological differences between males and females has focused on reproductive organs. However, sex can also influence other tissues and organs throughout the body. Understanding these differences could be important for improving the prevention and treatment of inflammatory diseases and cancer, yet researchers have often overlooked their significance.
Published in Nature, the study was led by Prof. Cédric Blanpain, MD/PhD, an investigator at the WEL Research Institute, director of the Laboratory of Stem Cells and Cancer, and professor at the Université libre de Bruxelles. The research was conducted in collaboration with Prof. Benjamin Simons and his team at the University of Cambridge, along with scientists from several other institutions.
Using an advanced microscopy technique, the researchers were able to record individual cells through the skin of living mice. This allowed them to follow the same stem cells and their descendants for five months, an unprecedented period of observation. Although their original goal was to understand the mechanisms behind skin renewal, the team unexpectedly discovered striking differences between females and males. Further experiments revealed that sex hormones were responsible.
How Skin Stem Cells Renew the Skin
The skin’s outermost layer is constantly replacing itself. This process begins with stem cells located at the bottom of the layer, where they divide to produce new cells. Some of the resulting “daughter” cells retain their ability to function as stem cells, while others begin developing into specialized cells.
These specialized cells form the protective barrier that shields the body from its surroundings. As they mature, they lose the ability to divide (a process called differentiation), gradually move toward the surface, and are eventually shed.
Scientists have debated the precise organization of this renewal process for decades. By repeatedly observing the same areas of skin over five months, the researchers found that stem cells do not immediately become fully mature skin cells.
Instead, they pass through an intermediate stage in which they can divide only a limited number of times before completing their development into specialized cells. This finding helps clarify a long-standing question about how the skin maintains itself.
Female Skin Cells Work in Surprising Synchronization
One of the most unexpected findings involved the behavior of newly formed cells.
In female mice, two “sister” cells produced by the division of a single parent cell frequently make the same developmental decision at the same time. Both may divide again, or both may begin specializing into mature skin cells.
Their behavior resembles two rowers moving their oars in unison. In male mice, however, sister cells are less closely synchronized and tend to follow more independent patterns.
“We initially set out to understand how the skin renews itself, and whether there is a hierarchy with stem cells at the top. We were surprised to discover strong differences in the way stem cells renew the skin in females and males,” explains Doctor Dan Engelman, the first author of the study.
Sex Hormones Control How Skin Cells Behave
To determine what caused these differences, the scientists investigated the influence of male and female sex hormones.
They first examined what happened when male mice were castrated, removing the primary source of testosterone. Without this hormone, their skin cells began behaving more like those in females. When the researchers administered dihydrotestosterone (DHT), an active form of testosterone, the cells returned to their typical male pattern.
These experiments showed that male sex hormones help regulate how rapidly skin cells mature and move out of the stem cell layer.
The team also investigated the role of female sex hormones. Removing the ovaries (ovariectomy) reduced the rate at which stem cells multiplied and almost completely eliminated the characteristic synchronization between sister cells.
Treatment with estradiol, a form of estrogen, reversed the reduction in stem cell proliferation.
Together, these findings revealed that testosterone, which is generally more abundant in males, influences the speed of skin cell maturation. Estrogens, which are generally more abundant in females, promote stem cell proliferation and help coordinate the behavior of newly produced cells.
The researchers also tested testosterone on human skin reconstructed in the laboratory. They found that the hormone accelerated stem cell differentiation, suggesting that at least part of the mechanism observed in mice may also operate in humans.
Why Skin Wounds Heal Faster in Female Mice
The differences in stem cell behavior were accompanied by another important finding: female mice recovered more quickly from skin injuries.
When researchers examined wounds on the animals’ backs, they found that wounds closed substantially faster in females, particularly during the first few days after injury.
This early advantage was partly associated with skin stem cells becoming active sooner and working in a more coordinated manner. As healing progressed, the difference between males and females gradually became smaller.
The results suggest that the hormonal regulation of stem cells may help explain why skin repair differs between the sexes.
What the Discovery Could Mean for Wound Healing and Skin Cancer
Doctors have long recognized differences between men and women in wound healing, the severity of certain inflammatory conditions, and the frequency of some skin cancers. However, the underlying biological explanations have remained incomplete.
By identifying how sex hormones influence stem cell activity, the new research provides a possible explanation for some of these observations.
The findings could eventually contribute to medical treatments that account for a patient’s sex. Potential applications include improving recovery from burns and surgery, as well as treating chronic wounds in people with diabetes, a problem affecting millions worldwide.
Understanding these differences may also help researchers develop new approaches to preventing skin cancer, one of the most common forms of cancer.
For now, faster wound healing and coordinated stem cell behavior were demonstrated in mice. Additional research will be needed to determine how closely these processes match those in human skin and whether they can be used to improve medical care.
Beyond their potential clinical importance, the findings also provide new insight into the fundamental process of skin renewal, helping address a question that has challenged scientists for decades.
“This study is a technological tour de force, and the discovery of differences between male and female skin stem cells is fascinating and entirely unexpected. It sheds light on a series of clinical observations that previously lacked a biological explanation. It opens up a wide range of new questions, spanning from fundamental stem cell biology to clinical issues such as wound healing, cancer development, and autoimmune diseases. Sex is a parameter too often overlooked in biology and medicine. We will now investigate the differences between males and females during the formation and progression of skin cancers, as well as the molecular mechanisms responsible for these differences,” says Prof. Cédric Blanpain, who led the study.
Research Collaborations and Funding
The project brought together Prof. Blanpain’s team (ULB, Belgium) and Prof. Simons’ group (University of Cambridge, UK), along with research teams led by Michele De Luca (University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italia), Yulia Shwartz (Broad CIRM Center, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, US) and Esther Hoste (VIB-Ghent University, Belgium).
Funding was provided by the FNRS (including FRIA fellowships), TELEVIE, the WEL Research Institute, the Fondation contre le Cancer, the Fondation ULB, the Fonds Erasme, the Fondation Julie et Françoise Drion, the Fonds Yvonne Boël, the joint FNRS/FWO EOS (Excellence of Science) program and the European Research Council (ERC).
