Fig. 2From: Pre-aggregation of scalp progenitor dermal and epidermal stem cells activates the WNT pathway and promotes hair follicle formation in in vitro and in vivo systemsAggregation of dermal and epidermal cells enhances the expression of WNT pathway-related genes. a–l Dissociated dermal (Der), epidermal (Epi), or mixed dermal-epidermal (Epi-Der) cells at a 1:1 ratio were collected for total mRNA extraction (Dis-0 h) without aggregation or were placed into suspension for 24 h to form aggregates, after which the aggregates were harvested at 24 h (Agg-24 h) for total mRNA extraction. A total 2 × 105 cells were used for this experiment. Total mRNAs from all conditions were analyzed for the expression of genes as indicated by RT-PCR, and the relative expression level of each gene was normalized with the housekeeping gene 36B4. The experiment was repeated three times (n = 3). Significance between groups labeled with black lines was established by P values as indicated: *P < 0.05,**P < 0.01;***P < 0.005, ****P < 0.001Back to article page