Autophagy Critically Controls Skin Inflammation and Apoptosis-Induced Stem Cell Activation

September 2023 in “ Autophagy ”

Lisette Van Hove, Annagiada Toniolo, Mohammad Ghiasloo, Kim Lecomte, Fleur Boone, Maarten Ciers, Kris Raaijmakers, Niels Vandamme, Jana Roels, Sophia Maschalidi, Kodi S. Ravichandran, Maria Kasper, Geert Loo, Esther Hoste

autophagy Atg16l1 keratinocytes skin inflammation apoptosis hair follicle growth hair follicle stem cells HFSCs de novo hair follicle formation wound healing tumorigenesis

TLDR Autophagy helps control skin inflammation and cancer responses and regulates hair growth by affecting stem cell activity.

The study demonstrates that keratinocyte-specific ablation of the autophagy mediator Atg16l1 in mice leads to increased skin inflammation, heightened sensitivity to apoptosis, and enhanced tumor formation. These mice also show an earlier onset of hair follicle growth and expanded regenerative potential of hair follicle stem cells (HFSCs), including de novo hair follicle formation and improved wound healing. The findings suggest that autophagy in keratinocytes plays a crucial role in controlling skin inflammation and tumorigenesis while restraining HFSC activation by modulating apoptotic responses.

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