Project description:The hair follicle misorientation phenotype in Fzd6-/- mice appears to act through the PCP signaling system, but the downstream effectors of Fzd6 remain mysterious. We used microarrays to search for potential downstream effectors of the Fzd6 signaling pathway in regulating hair follicle orientation.
Project description:Posttranslational protein modifications have emerged as a mechanism regulating progenitor cell state transitions during tissue formation. Herein, we exploit the stereotyped hair follicle development to delineate the function of PADI4; an enzyme converting peptidylarginine to citrulline. Single cell-sequencing places Padi4 in both progenitor and differentiated hair lineage cells and indicate that PADI4 acts to repress transcription during hair follicle development. We establish PADI4 as a negative regulator of proliferation, acting on LEF1-positive hair shaft committed progenitor cells. Mechanistically, PADI4 citrullinates proteins associated with mRNA-processing and ribosomal biogenesis, and lack of PADI4 promotes protein synthesis and rRNA transcription in vivo. Characterizing key translational effectors, we demonstrate that PADI4 citrullinates the translational repressor 4E-BP1 and reveal a crosstalk between PADI4 activity and 4E-BP1 phosphorylation. This work sheds new light on how posttranslational modifications impact progenitor cell states and tissue formation.
Project description:Dermal lymphatics form a network that connects all the hair follicles in skin and localize in proximity to the Hair Follicle Stem Cell. RNA sequencing analyses of isolated dermal lymphatics at two different time points of the hair follicle cycle (P55 and P70) indicate the existence of dynamic signaling networks associated with lymphatic remodeling, immune trafficking, and HF signaling.
Project description:Tissue formation requires a coordinated balance of progenitor cell proliferation and differentiation. Posttranslational protein modifications have emerged as a mechanism utilized to regulate progenitor cell state transitions. Herein, we exploit the well characterized and stereotyped hair follicle development to delineate the function of PADI4; an enzyme converting peptidylarginine to citrulline. Single cell-sequencing places Padi4 in both progenitor and differentiated hair lineage cells during hair follicle development. We show that the absence of PADI4 induces gene expression across hair follicle cell clusters, suggesting that PADI4 acts to negatively impact transcription. In addition, we establish PADI4 as a negative regulator of proliferation, acting of LEF1-positive hair shaft committed progenitor cells. Mechanistically, PADI4 citrullinates proteins associated with mRNA-processing and ribosomal biogenesis, and lack of PADI4 promotes protein synthesis and rRNA transcription in vivo, in both hair follicle progenitor and committed lineage cells. Characterizing key translational effectors, we demonstrate that PADI4 interacts with 4E-BP1 and reveal a crosstalk between PADI4 activity and 4E-BP1 phosphorylation. We report that PADI4 contributes to hair follicle development by repressing progenitor cell proliferation and translational activity. This work sheds new light on how posttranslational modifications impact progenitor cell states and tissue formation.
Project description:Stem cells upended from their niche upon injury display lineage plasticity, a transient multi-lineage state essential for tissue repair. Employing high-throughput approaches and three-dimensional cultures of hair follicle stem cells (HFSCs), we investigate the signals that govern the transition between homeostatic regeneration and lineage plasticity. We identify retinoic acid (RA) as a master orchestrator of HFSC behavior during these two processes. In the hair follicle, RA signals within defined niches and interacts with WNT and BMP cues to drive hair regeneration. In wounded skin, reduced RA signaling prompts HFSCs to prioritize epidermal re-epithelialization and must be restored to promote hair regrowth. Substantiated in vivo, our findings have profound therapeutic implications for hair growth and for chronic wounds and cancers, where lineage plasticity is unresolved.
Project description:During embryogenesis, antagonism and synergy between developmental signaling pathways dictate cell fate decisions. How these circuits orchestrate the complex cellular remodeling needed for tissue morphogenesis remains poorly understood. As effectors of cytoskeletal dynamics, Rho GTPases and their regulators are likely to be involved. However, their daunting complexity has hindered progress in dissecting their functions. Here we overcome this hurdle by developing an unbiased, high throughput RNAi-mediated screening approach to identify physiological regulators of morphogenesis. Exploiting in utero lentiviral delivery methods to transduce embryonic mouse skin progenitors, we screened for Rho GTPases and GTPase regulators that differentially function in epidermal versus hair follicle development. Our screen unveiled hitherto unrecognized roles for specific family members in cytoskeletal remodeling events that impact these diverse morphogenetic processes, including epidermal differentiation, follicle downgrowth and planar cell polarity. Our findings underscore the power of our screening strategy for unravel the physiological significance of complex gene families.
Project description:Cashmere, also known as soft gold, is produced from secondary hair follicles in Cashmere goats and it’s therefore of significance to investigate the molecular profiles during Cashmere goat hair follicle development. However, our current understanding of the machinery underlying Cashmere goat hair follicle remains largely unexplored and researches regarding hair follicle development mainly used the mouse as a research model. To provides comprehensively understanding on the cellular heterogeneity and cell lineage cell fate decisions, we performed single-cell RNA sequencing on 19,705 single cells from induction (embryonic day 60), organogenesis (embryonic day 90) and cytodifferentiation (embryonic day 120) stage fetus Cashmere goat dorsal skin. Unsupervised clustering analysis identified 16 cell clusters and their corresponding cell types were also successfully characterized. Based on cell lineage inference, we revealed detailed transcriptional gene expression profiles during dermal and epidermal lineage cell fate decisions. These works together delineate unparalleled molecular profiles of different cell populations during Cashmere goat hair follicle morphogenesis and provide a valuable resource for identifying biomarkers during Cashmere goat hair follicle development.