Essential Role of STAT3 Signaling in Hair Follicle Homeostasis
November 2021
in “
Frontiers in immunology
”
TLDR STAT3 signaling is important for healthy skin and hair follicles, and its disruption can lead to skin conditions like atopic dermatitis.
STAT3 signaling in keratinocytes is crucial for maintaining skin homeostasis, as it negatively regulates the expression of hair follicle-specific keratin genes. Disruptions in STAT3 signaling are linked to atopic dermatitis in hyper IgE syndrome, which is thought to be due to defects in type 17 helper T cell specification. The study also found that the onset of dermatitis correlated with these gene expression patterns and occurred under specific pathogen-free conditions, but not in germ-free conditions, indicating that inflammatory responses triggered by Toll-like receptors due to microorganisms are involved. This highlights the importance of STAT3-dependent gene expression in keratinocytes for skin health.