{"database":"GEO","file_versions":[{"headers":{"Content-Type":["application/json"]},"body":{"files":{"Other":["ftp://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/series/GSE342nnn/GSE342793/"]},"type":"primary"},"statusCodeValue":200,"statusCode":"OK"}],"scores":null,"additional":{"omics_type":["Other"],"species":["Mus musculus"],"gds_type":["Other"],"full_dataset_link":["https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/query/acc.cgi?acc=GSE342793"],"repository":["GEO"],"entry_type":["GSE"],"additional_accession":[]},"is_claimable":false,"name":"Sharp cell type boundaries emerge from coordinated morphogen signaling","description":"Classic models of the French flag problem depict sharp cell-type boundaries emerging from threshold responses to morphogen gradients. How discrete cell-type boundaries arise from morphogen signals that vary continuously across developing tissues remains incompletely understood. We use hair follicle dermal condensate (DC) formation to study a sharp developmental transition in which proliferative progenitors undergo cell-cycle exit concurrent with molecular differentiation. Using genetic and genomic approaches, we show that Wnt and Hedgehog signaling coordinate separable cellular events during DC commitment. Elevated Wnt signaling promotes cell-cycle exit by reducing chromatin binding of the Hedgehog mediator GLI3, while Hedgehog signaling induces differentiation genes in a Wnt-dependent manner and simultaneously elevates Wnt activity. When these responses coincide, differentiation and cell-cycle exit occur together, limiting the duration and abundance of intermediate states and producing a sharp boundary. When they do not, intermediate states persist and expand, producing a graded boundary. Thus, a sharp boundary can emerge from a continuous transition that is compressed in time and space.","dates":{"publication":"2026/08/25"},"accession":"GSE342793","cross_references":{"GSM":["GSM9939379","GSM9939381","GSM9939380"],"GPL":["24247"],"GSE":["342793"],"taxon":["Mus musculus"]}}