A Mutation in the Serum and Glucocorticoid-Inducible Kinase-Like Kinase (Sgkl) Gene is Associated with Defective Hair Growth in Mice

The study identified a mutation in the Sgkl gene as the cause of defective hair growth in the YPC mutant mouse strain, characterized by thin, short hairs and poorly developed hair structures. Through genome-wide linkage analysis of 1010 backcross progeny, the mutation was mapped to a 0.2-cM region on mouse chromosome 1. A single C-to-A nucleotide substitution in the Sgkl gene resulted in a nonsense mutation, disrupting the function of the SGKL protein, which is crucial for hair follicle development. The research concluded that the SGKL signaling pathway is essential for mammalian hair development.