A team at the Université libre de Bruxelles led by Cédric Blanpain, with Benjamin Simons of the University of Cambridge, filmed the skin stem cells of living mice for five months. The study was published in Nature.
In females, “sister” stem cells tend to divide or specialise at the same time, in a more coordinated process; in males, each cell follows its own rhythm. Hormones explain the difference: testosterone sets the pace of maturation in males, while oestrogens stimulate division and coordination in females. In a test on lab-grown human skin, testosterone also sped up cell specialisation.
Wounds in females closed faster, especially in the first few days. The authors believe the findings could help create sex-tailored treatments for burns, recovery after surgery and chronic diabetic wounds.
