Male and female skin stem cells follow different renewal rules

Researchers at ULB and the University of Cambridge tracked skin stem cells in living mice for five months and found that sister cells in females divide in sync, while male cells behave more independently. Sex hormones drive the difference: testosterone speeds up cell maturation, estrogen boosts proliferation. Female mice also healed back wounds faster.

• The same skin stem cells in mice were observed for five months
• Castration shifted male cells toward the female pattern; DHT restored it
• Ovariectomy nearly eliminated sister-cell synchronization in females
• Testosterone also accelerated stem cell differentiation in reconstructed human skin