Method for enhancing keratinocyte stem cells

Patent Number: 7,476,538

This patent covers methods of selecting keratinocyte stem cells and expanding them.  As you can imagine, one of the major applications for keratinocyte stem cells is in the cosmetics area (assignee is L'Oreal).

The patent covers A method for enriching keratinocyte stem cells (KSCs) from a sample of keratinocytes and KSCs, said KSCs having an expansion potential of at least 10.sup.9 after about 100 days in culture, comprising:

(a) providing a sample of keratinocytes and KSCs;

(b) contacting said sample with a culture plate coated with collagen for approximately 12 minutes; and then

(c) washing away non-adherent cells; and then

(d) recovering adherent cells; and then

(e) sorting the recovered adherent cells by their expression level of EGFR; and then

(f) recovering the cells whose expression level of EGFR is less than about 50% of the maximum level of EGFR expression in said recovered adherent cells, wherein the cells recovered in step (f) are KSCs and wherein said KSCs have an expansion potential of at least 10.sup.9 after about 100 days in culture.

View this patent on the USPTO website.