Mouse Hair Cycle Expression Dynamics Modeled as Coupled Mesenchymal and Epithelial Oscillators

November 2014 in “ PLOS Computational Biology ”

Ryan Tasseff, Anjali Bheda-Malge, Teresa DiColandrea, Charles C. Bascom, Robert J. Isfort, Richard Gelinas

hair cycle gene expression epithelial cells mesenchymal cells hair miniaturization RNA imaging protein imaging follicular epithelial cells hair growth gene clusters

Studysummary In this study, researchers found that synchronization between expanding epithelial cells and background mesenchymal cells in the mouse hair cycle may be maintained by inhibitory regulation, with potential mediators of this regulation identified.

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In the 2014 study, researchers developed a mathematical model to understand the dynamics of hair growth in mice by analyzing gene expression data. They identified 4627 probesets (3567 unique genes) with significant periodic expression patterns that may relate to hair cycle regulation. The model suggested that inhibitory regulation between expanding epithelial and background mesenchymal cells maintains synchronization, and only one configuration of positive-negative coupling was found to be dynamically stable. Bifurcation analysis indicated that impairing this negative regulation could lead to a pathological state resembling hair miniaturization. The study also associated specific gene clusters with mesenchymal populations and rapidly expanding follicular epithelial cells, supported by RNA and protein imaging for representative genes. This research provided insights into the synchronization mechanism between epithelial and mesenchymal populations in the hair cycle and identified potential mediators of this regulation.

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