Human Dermal Fibroblasts Show Positive Immunostaining for Neuron and Glia Specific Proteins

    December 2015 in “ PLoS ONE ”
    Cynthia Janmaat, Karien E. de Rooij, Heiko Locher, Simon C. de Groot, John C.M.J. de Groot, Johan H. M. Frijns, Margriet A. Huisman
    TLDR Fibroblasts can be mistaken for neural cells, so functional validation is needed.
    The study found that human adult dermal fibroblasts expressed both glial and neuronal markers, such as SOX9, glial fibrillary acidic protein, EGR2 (KROX20), and class III β-tubulin, at both the protein and mRNA levels. This expression raised concerns about the reliability of immunophenotyping for determining cellular identity, as fibroblasts could be mistaken for neural cells. The study highlighted the need for functional validation to confirm glial or neuronal identity, as immunostaining alone could lead to false-positive results, particularly with markers like S100β, GAP43, and to a lesser extent, OCT6.
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