Dermal papilla cells (DPCs) play roles in key functions of the epidermis such as hair generation. The use of human induced pluripotent cells (hiPSCs) makes it possible to obtain DP-like cells and study the molecular mechanisms of DPC development during embryogenesis. In this work, we studied the phenotypic trajectory of hiPSCs during their differentiation into DP-like cells and evaluated the epithelial-mesenchymal interaction potential of the resulting cell line. Specifically, we differentiated hiPSCs into neural progenitor cells (NPCs) and subsequently into DP-like cells. Analysis of bulk RNA-seq data during this process enabled us to observe gene expression dynamics during five stages of dermal differentiation. Furthermore, functional assays (organoids in both collagen gels and hanging drop cultures and tubulogenesis assays) revealed that the dermal cell lines we generated could interact with epidermal cells.

真皮乳头细胞 (DPC) 在表皮的关键功能（例如毛发生成）中发挥着重要作用。利用人诱导多能细胞（hiPSC）可以获得DP样细胞并研究胚胎发生过程中DPC发育的分子机制。在这项工作中，我们研究了 hiPSC 在分化为 DP 样细胞期间的表型轨迹，并评估了所得细胞系的上皮-间质相互作用潜力。具体来说，我们将 hiPSC 分化为神经祖细胞 (NPC)，随后分化为 DP 样细胞。在此过程中对大量 RNA-seq 数据的分析使我们能够观察真皮分化五个阶段的基因表达动态。此外，功能测定（胶原凝胶和悬滴培养物中的类器官以及管状发生测定）表明，我们生成的真皮细胞系可以与表皮细胞相互作用。