Responses of Hair Follicle–Associated Structures to Loss of Planar Cell Polarity Signaling

The study investigated the role of Frizzled6 (Fz6)-mediated planar cell polarity (PCP) signaling in the orientation of hair follicle-associated structures. It found that Merkel cell clusters directly accessed Fz6-based polarity information and lost their polarity without Fz6. In contrast, other structures like sebaceous glands, arrector pili muscles, and sensory nerve endings derived their polarity cues from the hair follicles, aligning their orientation with the follicles. This research highlighted the interplay between global and local polarity information in coordinating the spatial arrangement of multicellular structures and demonstrated the utility of mammalian skin for quantitative analyses of biological polarity.