Participation of Somatic Stem Cells, Labeled by a Unique Antibody (A3) Recognizing Both N-glycan and Peptide, to Hair Follicle Cycle and Cutaneous Wound Healing in Rats

A monoclonal antibody (A3) was generated by using rat malignant fibrous histiocytoma (MFH) cells as the antigen. Generally, MFH is considered to be a sarcoma derived from undifferentiated mesenchymal cells. Molecular biological analyses using the lysate of rat MFH cells revealed that A3 is a conformation specific antibody recognizing both N-glycan and peptide. A3-labeled cells in bone marrow were regarded as somatic stem cells, because the cells partly coexpressed CD90 and CD105 (both immature mesenchymal markers). In the hair follicle cycle, particularly the anagen, the immature epithelial cells (suprabasal cells) near the bulge and some immature mesenchymal cells in the disassembling dermal papilla and regenerating connective tissue sheath/hair papilla reacted to A3. In the cutaneous wound-healing process, A3-labeled epithelial cells participated in re-epithelialization in the wound bed, and apparently, the labeled cells were derived from the hair bulge; in addition, A3-labeled immature mesenchymal cells in the connective tissue sheath of hair follicles at the wound edge showed the expansion of the A3 immunolabeling. A3-labeled immature epithelial and mesenchymal cells contributed to morphogenesis in the hair cycle and tissue repair after a cutaneous wound. A3 could become a unique antibody to identify somatic stem cells capable of differentiating both epithelial and mesenchymal cells in rat tissues.