常见毛囊细胞角蛋白在毛囊周期中的表达研究

目的探讨常见毛囊细胞角蛋白在毛囊周期中的表达特征。 方法取毛囊发育期、生长期启动、生长期、退化期和静止期的小鼠皮肤,石蜡切片后通过免疫荧光的方法,检测细胞角蛋白Krt5、Krt6、Krt10、Krt14、Krt15和Krt19的表达情况。 结果Krt5在静止期和生长期启动表达于所有毛囊上皮细胞,在其他时期表达不一致;Krt6表达于所有时期的外根鞘细胞和内根鞘细胞;Krt10表达于生长期和退化期的毛母质和内根鞘细胞,在其他时期表达不一致;Krt14在生长期和退化期表达于所有毛囊上皮细胞,在其他时期表达不一致;Krt15和Krt19表达于毛囊发育期、生长期启动和静止期的毛囊隆突区细胞,在生长期和退化期表达不一致。 结论角蛋白作为毛囊结构或毛囊干细胞标记物仅适用于特定的毛囊周期。研究者在使用毛囊角蛋白作为标记物时,应首先明确其在毛囊周期中的表达情况。     

Notch1 is essential for postnatal hair follicle development and homeostasis

Notch genes encode evolutionarily conserved large, single transmembrane receptors, which regulate many cell fate decisions and differentiation processes during fetal and postnatal life. Multiple Notch receptors and ligands are expressed in both developing and adult epidermis and hair follicles. Proliferation and differentiation of these two ectodermal-derived structures have been proposed to be controlled in part by the Notch pathway. Whether Notch signaling is involved in postnatal hair homeostasis is currently unknown. Here, we investigate and compare the role of the Notch1 receptor during embryonic hair follicle development and postnatal hair homeostasis using Cre-loxP based tissue specific and inducible loss-of-function approaches. During embryonic development, tissue-specific ablation of Notch1 does not perturb formation and patterning of hair follicle placodes. However, Notch1 deficient hair follicles invaginate prematurely into the dermis. Embryonic as well as postnatal inactivation of Notch1 shortly after birth or in adult mice results in almost complete hair loss followed by cyst formation. The first hair cycle of Notch1 deficient mice is characterized by shortened anagen and a premature entry into catagen. These data show that Notch1 is essential for late stages of hair follicle development during embryogenesis as well as for post-natal hair follicle development and hair homeostasis.     

MicroRNA对皮肤毛囊发育的调控机制

MicroRNA是参与转录后水平表达调控的重要因子, 在病理上成为药物作用的潜在靶点, 在生理上成为表型调控的潜在位点。目前, 对于microRNA的功能已有一定了解, 但其在皮肤毛囊发育中的作用机制还不完全清楚。近年来, 高通量测序技术为microRNA的鉴定提供了更准确、快速的途径, 研究发现一些microRNA能够影响皮肤毛囊细胞的分化和增殖, 其相关靶基因在调控毛囊周期性生长的过程中充当重要角色。文章综述了近年来microRNA在皮肤毛囊生长发育调控机制研究领域所取得的成果, 以期为后续开展绒山羊毛囊生长相关microRNA作用机制研究提供借鉴。     

皮肤毛囊发育的转录组研究进展

近年来,转录组测序技术在动物重要经济性状受复杂基因网络的调控研究领域取得了显著的成果。作为哺乳动物皮肤的衍生物,毛囊是唯一具有高度自我更新能力、独特的可再生器官,毛囊细胞经增殖分化最终形成毛发。已有的研究表明,诸多生长因子及其受体作为体内分泌协调基因的重要因素,对毛发的生长发育起着重要的调控作用。文章综述了近年来转录组测序技术在人、小鼠及羊等生物的皮肤毛囊发育和再生过程中基因调控方式的研究进展,旨在为今后人工干扰绒毛周期生长发育和分子育种提供理论依据,同时也为皮肤毛囊相关疾病的临床治疗提供新思路。     

miRNA在调控皮肤和毛囊发育中的作用

表皮发生和毛囊的周期性再生涉及一系列基因的激活和沉默。近年来的研究表明, miRNA的表达谱在表皮和毛囊组织中存在组织特异性, 在毛囊周期性发育中存在阶段特异性。大量miRNA参与表皮和毛囊的发生, 色素的沉着以及毛囊的周期性发育过程, 不同类型细胞中的miRNA通过与信号通路和调控因子相互作用形成了一个全方位、多层次的网络调控系统。文章综述了miRNA调控表皮内稳态和毛囊周期性发育的一些研究 进展, 旨在丰富miRNA参与的基因调控网路的研究, 进而为人工调控miRNA进行疾病治疗和分子育种提供 帮助。     

Aging of hair follicle stem cells and their niches

Hair follicles in the skin undergo cyclic rounds of regeneration, degeneration, and rest throughout life. Stem cells residing in hair follicles play a pivotal role in maintaining tissue homeostasis and hair growth cycles. Research on hair follicle aging and age-related hair loss has demonstrated that a decline in hair follicle stem cell (HFSC) activity with aging can decrease the regeneration capacity of hair follicles. This review summarizes our understanding of how age-associated HFSC intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms can induce HFSC aging and hair loss. In addition, we discuss approaches developed to attenuate age-associated changes in HFSCs and their niches, thereby promoting hair regrowth.     

Expression profile analysis of microRNAs during hair follicle development in the sheep foetus

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulate the development and growth cycle of hair follicles (HFs). The molecular mechanism by which miRNAs determine the development of HFs in the sheep foetus remains elusive. In this study, the expression profiles of miRNAs at 11 development periods (45, 55, 65, 75, 85, 95, 105, 115, 125, 135 and 145 d) in sheep foetus skin were analysed by high-throughput sequencing and bioinformatics analysis. A total of 72 conserved miRNAs, 44 novel miRNAs and 32 known miRNAs were significantly differentially expressed. qRT-PCR results for 18 miRNAs were consistent with the sequencing data. 85 d of foetal development was the starting point for secondary hair follicle (SF) development according to tissue morphology and cluster analysis. In SF development, the prolactin signalling pathway and platelet activation played important roles, and 10 miRNAs were potential candidate miRNAs in SF initiation.     

Morphogenesis of the hair follicle during catagen

Summary During catagen, the transition period between growth and quiescence, the growing (anagen) hair follicle is reorganized to form the resting (telogen) follicle. The last portion of the hair shaft produced at the onset of catagen consists only of cortex. Surrounding the cortex and attached tightly to it are the club cells, which resemble the cortex in structure and development except that the filaments of the club are oriented randomly and do not exhibit the keratin pattern seen in the cortex. The club cells in turn are attached to a capsule of germ cells which are formed by progressive transformation of the outer root sheath cells at the middle of the growing follicle. When the capsule of germ cells is formed, the follicle below it undergoes resorption, presumbaly mediated by hydrolytic enzymes. As the follicle disintegrates, the surrounding basal lamina undergoes extensive pleating and is eventually resorbed. Collagen fibers around the basal lamina are engulfed and degraded by the large number of macrophages that surround the hair follicle at this time. The dermal papilla remains as a compact ball of cells just below the capsule of germ cells.This study constitutes publication No. 428 from the Oregon Regional Primate Research Center, supported by Grant No. FR-00163.I wish to thank Mrs. Janice Anderson for patient and excellent technical assistance and Mr. Joel Ito for the drawing.     

BMP signaling in the control of skin development and hair follicle growth

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs), their antagonists, and BMP receptors are involved in controlling a large number of biological functions including cell proliferation, differentiation, cell fate decision, and apoptosis in many different types of cells and tissues during embryonic development and postnatal life. BMPs exert their biological effects via using BMP-Smad and BMP-MAPK intracellular pathways. The magnitude and specificity of BMP signaling are regulated by a large number of modulators operating on several levels (extracellular, cytoplasmic, nuclear). In developing and postnatal skin, BMPs, their receptors, and BMP antagonists show stringent spatio-temporal expressions patterns to achieve proper regulation of cell proliferation and differentiation in the epidermis and in the hair follicle. Genetic studies assert an essential role for BMP signaling in the control of cell differentiation and apoptosis in developing epidermis, as well as in the regulation of key steps of hair follicle development (initiation, cell fate decision, cell lineage differentiation). In postnatal hair follicles, BMP signaling plays an important role in controlling the initiation of the growth phase and is also involved in the regulation of apoptosis-driven hair follicle involution. However, additional efforts are required to fully understand the mechanisms and targets involved in the realization of BMP effects on distinct cell population in the skin and hair follicle. Progress in this area of research will hopefully lead to the development of new therapeutic approaches for using BMPs and BMP antagonists in the treatment of skin and hair growth disorders.     

The effect of stretching on formation of myofibroblasts in mouse skin

Summary Wound contraction results from the contractile activity of modified fibroblasts, termed myofibroblasts, which are present in the granulation tissue of the healing wound. This study examines the relative role of mechanical tension (stretching) and wound healing as events capable of stimulating the formation of myofibroblasts in mouse skin. The skin of hairless mice was subjected to mechanical stretching and to a small incisional wound either separately or in combination. Animals were killed at intervals between 1 and 6 days and the dermis examined with the electron microscope. Stretching alone produced little evidence of inflammation at any time interval but cells with the ultrastructural characteristics of myofibroblasts were present at 4 days and abundant at 6 days. Skin that had been both stretched and wounded showed a marked inflammatory response and also contained myofibroblasts, but they were less frequent than in the skin subjected to stretching alone. Very few myofibroblasts were evident in skin that had only been wounded. It is suggested that the effect of mechanical tension alone may initiate formation of myofibroblasts in a tissue.     

新生小鼠不同部位皮肤毛囊早期发育差异的比较

目的观察出生后小鼠不同部位皮肤毛囊早期发育生长差异及细胞色素C的表达分布。方法对新生1~9日龄的KM小鼠背部、尾部和触须部皮肤取材,进行HE染色,用二步法免疫组织化学对组织进行细胞色素C进行表达分布检测。结果新生小鼠不同部位皮肤毛囊发育差异很大,这种差异不仅体现在形态差异上,而发育时间的差异也十分明显。小鼠出生后背部皮肤和尾部皮肤的毛囊发育都经过了一个非线性的发育和生长期,过了非线性的发育和生长期才开始快速生长,相比较尾部发育略迟于背部。触须部毛囊发育特征和背部尾部差异很大,一出生便可看到较成熟的触毛,没有经过稳定期便开始发育。结论通过形态学比较,结合CytC表达分布水平,发现新生小鼠不同部位皮肤毛囊早期发育存在形态和时间上的差异。     

The hair follicle—a stem cell zoo

Recent studies on stem cells in the adult hair follicle (HF) have uncovered a veritable menagerie of exceptionally diverse and dynamic keratinocytes with stem cell properties located in distinct regions of the HF. Although endowed with specific functions during normal hair follicle maintenance, the majority of these cells can act as multipotent stem cells in stress situations, such as physical injury, which argues for an unanticipated degree of plasticity of these cells. This review provides an overview of the different epithelial stem cell populations, identified in the mouse HF, and their relationships with one another, and envisions possible cellular mechanisms underlying normal HF maintenance and skin regeneration.     

Role of the vitamin D receptor in hair follicle biology

The vitamin D receptor (VDR) is expressed in numerous cells and tissues, including the skin. The critical requirement for cutaneous expression of the VDR has been proven by investigations in mice and humans lacking functional receptors. These studies demonstrate that absence of the VDR leads to the development of alopecia. The hair follicle is formed by reciprocal interactions between an epidermal placode, which gives rise to the hair follicle keratinocytes and the underlying mesoderm which gives rise to the dermal papilla. Hair follicle morphogenesis ends the second week of life in mice. Studies in VDR null mice have failed to demonstrate a cutaneous abnormality during this period of hair follicle morphogenesis. However, VDR null mice are unable to initiate a new hair cycle after the period of morphogenesis is complete, therefore, do not grow new hair. Investigations in transgenic mice have demonstrated that restricted expression of the VDR to keratinocytes is capable of preventing alopecia in the VDR null mice, thus demonstrating that the epidermal component of the hair follicle requires VDR expression to maintain normal hair follicle homeostasis. Studies were then performed to determine which regions of the VDR were required for these actions. Investigations in mice lacking the first zinc finger of the VDR have demonstrated that they express a truncated receptor containing an intact ligand binding and AF2 domain. These mice are a phenocopy of mice lacking the VDR, thus demonstrate the critical requirement of the DNA binding domain for hair follicle homeostasis. Transgenic mice expressing VDRs with mutations in either the ligand-binding domain or the AF2 domain were generated. These investigations demonstrated that mutant VDRs incapable of ligand-dependent transactivation were able to prevent alopecia. Investigations are currently underway to define the mechanism by which the unliganded VDR maintains hair follicle homeostasis.     

Effects of Wnt-10b on hair shaft growth in hair follicle cultures

Wnts are deeply involved in the proliferation and differentiation of skin epithelial cells. We previously reported the differentiation of cultured primary skin epithelial cells toward hair shaft and inner root sheath (IRS) of the hair follicle via beta-catenin stabilization caused by Wnt-10b, however, the effects of Wnt-10b on cultured hair follicles have not been reported. In the present study, we examined the effects of Wnt-10b on shaft growth using organ cultures of whisker hair follicles in serum-free conditions. No hair shaft growth was observed in the absence of Wnt-10b, whereas its addition to the culture promoted elongation of the hair shaft, intensive incorporation of BrdU in matrix cells flanking the dermal papilla (DP), and beta-catenin stabilization in DP and IRS cells. These results suggest a promoting effect of Wnt-10b on hair shaft growth that is involved with stimulation of the DP via Wnt-10b/beta-catenin signalling, proliferation of matrix cells next to the DP, and differentiation of IRS cells by Wnt-10b.