The Transcriptional Regulator Prdm1 Is Essential for the Early Development of the Sensory Whisker Follicle and Is Linked to the Beta-Catenin First Dermal Signal
October 2022
in “
Biomedicines
”
TLDR Prdm1 is necessary for early whisker development in mice but not for other hair, and its absence changes nerve and brain patterns related to whiskers.
The study demonstrates that the transcriptional regulator Prdm1 is crucial for the early development of sensory whisker follicles in mice. Prdm1 is expressed in mesenchymal cell clusters before placode formation, and its knockout results in the loss of key signaling molecules (Bmp2, Shh, Bmp4, Krt17, Edar, and Gli1) but retains the β-catenin-driven first dermal signal. Prdm1-expressing cells act as a signaling center and multipotent progenitors for adult whisker lineages. Genetic ablation of Prdm1 leads to the absence of macro vibrissae, affecting nerve organization in mystacial pads and barrel cortex reorganization. Lef1 is identified as an upstream regulator of Prdm1, with a primate-specific deletion in a Lef1 enhancer suggesting evolutionary implications for vibrissae loss in primates.
