Comparative Study on Expression of Relevant Proteins of Proliferation and Differentiation of Human Epidermal Stem Cells between Diabetic Skin and Normal Skin

β-catenin plays an important role in the tissue repair. But its expression and meanings in the diabetic cutaneous wound remains to be determined. In this study, we investigated the expression of β-catenin and PCNA in epidermal stem cells (ESCs) of diabetic rat skin. The diabetes mellitus (DM) rats were induced by a single i.p. injection of streptozotocin. ESCs were extracted from the dorsal skin samples of rats by trypsin digesting method and further purified by collagen adhering methods. Expression of β1-integrin and keratin 19 were identified as ESCs by immunocytochemical staining . The results showed the amount of β-catenin and PCNA were decreased in ESCs of DM rat skin, and the clone forming efficiency of ESCs in DM rat skin was significantly lower than that in normal skin. It reveals impaired wounds repair in DM is characterized by the protracted epithelialization which is due to a decreased proliferative capacity of epidermal stem cells.