Analysis of the expression pattern of the carrier protein transthyretin and its receptor megalin in the human scalp skin and hair follicles: hair cycle-associated changes |
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Authors: | Mohamed A Adly |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Sohag University, Sohag, Egypt;(2) Present address: Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, King Khalid University, P. O. Box 9004, Abha, Saudi Arabia |
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Abstract: | Transthyretin is a serum and cerebrospinal fluid protein synthesized early in development by the liver, choroid plexus and
several other tissues. It is a carrier protein for the antioxidant vitamins, retinol, and thyroid hormones. Transthyretin
helps internalize thyroxine and retinol-binding protein into cells by binding to megalin, which is a multi-ligand receptor
expressed on the luminal surface of various epithelia. We investigated the expression of transthyretin and its receptor megalin
in the human skin; however, their expression pattern in the hair follicle is still to be elucidated. This study addresses
this issue and tests the hypothesis that “the expression of transthyretin and megalin undergoes hair follicle cycle-dependent
changes.” A total of 50 normal human scalp skin biopsies were examined (healthy females, 53–62 years) using immunofluorescence
staining methods and real-time PCR. In each case, 50 hair follicles were analyzed (35, 10, and 5 follicles in anagen, catagen,
and telogen, respectively). Transthyretin and megalin were prominently expressed in the human scalp skin and hair follicles,
on both gene and protein levels. The concentrations of transthyretin and megalin were 0.12 and 0.03 Ul/ml, respectively, as
indicated by PCR. The expression showed hair follicle cycle-associated changes i.e., strong expression during early and mature
anagen, very weak expression during catagen and moderate expression during telogen. The expression values of these proteins
in the anagen were statistically significantly higher than those of either catagen or telogen hair follicles (P ≤ 0.001). This study provides the first morphologic indication that transthyretin and megalin are variably expressed in the
human scalp skin and hair follicles. It also reports variations in the expression of these proteins during hair follicle cycling.
The clinical ramifications of these findings are open for further investigations. |
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