GLI2-Specific Transcriptional Activation of the Bone Morphogenetic Protein/Activin Antagonist Follistatin in Human Epidermal Cells

March 2008 in “ Journal of biological chemistry/The Journal of biological chemistry ”

Thomas Eichberger, Alexandra Kaser, Claudia Pixner, Carmen Schmid, Stefan Klingler, Martina Winklmayr, Cornelia Hauser‐Kronberger, Fritz Aberger, Anna‐Maria Frischauf

follistatin GLI2 Hedgehog signaling activin BMP hair follicle development basal cell carcinoma FST HH signaling bone morphogenetic protein BCC

Studysummary This study found that GLI2 plays a key role in activating follistatin, an activin/BMP antagonist, in response to hedgehog signaling in human epidermal cells, with implications for hair follicle development and basal cell carcinoma. Our plain-language summary of this paper — not a Tressless recommendation.

The study demonstrated that in human epidermal cells, the expression of the activin/BMP antagonist follistatin (FST) was predominantly up-regulated by the Hedgehog (HH) signaling effector GLI2. This up-regulation was specific to GLI2, as neither GLI1 nor GLI3 significantly increased FST transcription. The research identified two GLI consensus binding sites in the FST promoter necessary for GLI2-mediated activation, with a 518-bp fragment in the proximal promoter region being crucial for this specificity. Additionally, sequences C-terminal to the zinc finger in GLI2 were responsible for this specific activation, suggesting the involvement of GLI-interacting cofactors. The findings highlighted a significant role of GLI2 in the regulation of FST in response to HH signaling, indicating a regulatory interaction between HH and activin/BMP signaling pathways in hair follicle development and basal cell carcinoma (BCC).

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Research cited in this study

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