557 Short-term Rho-associated kinase inhibitor treatment accelerates primary keratinocyte growth without affecting the characteristics of the stem cell population

Abstract

Keratinocyte stem cells (KSCs) can be cultured in vitro and are thus attractive in epidermal sheet gene therapies for genodermatoses. However, the growth and expansion in in vitro culture of primary keratinocytes (including KSCs) can be inefficient as KSCs isolated from skin biopsies and dissociated from their surrounding cells and extracellular matrix undergo apoptotic cell death, known as anoikis. This affects the survival and stemness of KSCs, hindering clinical applications. Rho-associated kinase inhibitor (ROCKi) has been widely used to overcome this obstacle, but the risk of changing the characteristics of stem cells remains.