A Multi-Omic Single-Cell Landscape of Perinatal Mouse Skin Maps Lineage Specification and Reveals Shared Dynamics in Human Fetal Skin

April 2026 in “ Experimental & Molecular Medicine ”

Hanjae Lee, Seunghee Lee, Seong Jin Jo, Sunhyoung Lee, Hyunjung Go, O. Kwon, Jong‐Il Kim

single-cell chromatin analysis transcriptomic analysis chromatin accessibility Mef2c+ upper fibroblasts smooth muscle-like appendages arrector pili muscle fibroblast lineages MEF2C+ fibroblast skin development skin regeneration fibroblasts muscle-like appendages hair muscle skin cells

Studysummary This study used integrated single-cell chromatin and transcriptomic analyses in developing mouse skin to uncover gene networks involved in skin lineage specification and identified Mef2c+ upper fibroblasts as potential precursors to certain muscle-like structures, with cross-species findings in human skin.

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