Emergence and properties of adult mammalian epidermal stem cells.

In this review we discuss how the mammalian interfollicular epidermis forms during development, maintains homeostasis, and is repaired following wounding. Recent studies have provided new insights into the relationship between the stem cell compartment and the differentiating cell layers; the ability of differentiated cells to dedifferentiate into stem cells; and the epigenetic memory of epidermal cells following wounding. [Display omitted] • Switch between planar and perpendicular cell divisions during development. • Epidermal signalling is integrated at the cellular and supracellular levels. • Epigenetic environmental and lineage memory of wounding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]