When Whorls Collide: The Development of Hair Patterns in Frizzled 6 Mutant Mice

November 2010 in “ Development ”

Yanshu Wang, Hao Chang, Jeremy Nathans

hair follicles frizzled 6 Fz6–/– hair patterning follicle orientations local hair follicle refinement

TLDR Hair follicles in mutant mice self-organize into ordered patterns within a week.

In frizzled 6 null (Fz6–/–) mice, the initial orientations of hair follicles were uncorrelated, but over time, they reoriented to form highly ordered local patterns. By tracking follicle orientations in both living and fixed tissues, researchers defined the timeline of local hair follicle refinement, observing that within one week, a local process organized tens of thousands of follicles into long-range order extending over more than one centimeter. This study suggested that mechanisms similar to those in physical systems undergoing vector component ordering might apply to hair follicle patterning.

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Research cited in this study

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research Order From Disorder: Self-Organization In Mammalian Hair Patterning

91 citations, December 2006 in “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences”

Hair patterns in mice are controlled by both a global system dependent on Fz6 and a local self-organizing system.

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