Hair follicle specific ACVR1/ALK2 critically affects skin morphogenesis and attenuates wound healing

May 2017 in “ Wound Repair and Regeneration ”

Michael Sorkin, Shailesh Agarwal, Kavitha Ranganathan, Shawn Loder, David Cholok, David Fireman, John Li, Shuli Li, Bin Zhao, Yuji Mishina, Paul S. Cederna, Benjamin Lévi

The study utilized a novel mouse model with targeted overexpression of the BMP receptor ALK2/ACVR1 in hair follicle stem cells to investigate its role in skin development and wound healing. The results showed significant dysregulation in hair follicle morphogenesis, with mutant mice exhibiting increased numbers of hair follicles with altered morphology and localization. These follicles displayed elevated proliferative activity and a higher prevalence of CD34 and ITGA6 positive stem cells. Additionally, the overexpression of ALK2 led to impaired cutaneous wound healing. The findings indicated that hair follicle-specific ALK2 played a critical role in maintaining the stem cell niche and influencing wound healing processes.

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