Overexpression Of Sonic Hedgehog Suppresses Embryonic Hair Follicle Morphogenesis

October 2003 in “ Developmental Biology ”

Tammy Ellis, Ian Smyth, Emily Riley, Josephine Bowles, Christelle Adolphe, Joseph A. Rothnagel, Carol Wicking, Brandon J. Wainwright

Sonic Hedgehog Shh hair follicle morphogenesis alopecia skin proliferation basal cell carcinoma Shh signaling

Studysummary This study in mice found that overexpressing Sonic Hedgehog in basal cells caused skin anomalies and a lack of certain hair fibers, underscoring its key role in hair follicle development.

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The study found that overexpression of Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) in transgenic mice suppressed embryonic hair follicle morphogenesis, leading to the absence of guard, awl, and auchene hair fibers, although postnatal hair development was normal. The HK1-Shh transgenic mice showed skin anomalies, such as alopecia and increased skin proliferation, but did not develop basal cell carcinomas, indicating the importance of precise Shh expression timing and location in skin tumorigenesis. The research emphasized Shh signaling's crucial role in hair follicle development and its potential implications in skin disorders, highlighting the need for further investigation into the molecular differences between mouse and human hair follicles.

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research Suppression of Hair Follicle Development Inhibits Induction of Sonic Hedgehog, Patched, and Patched-2 in Hair Germs in Mice

14 citations , September 2001 in “Archives of Dermatological Research”

This study reported that Sonic hedgehog signaling is crucial for hair follicle development, with its expression being significantly induced in normal embryonic hair germs but inhibited in certain experimental models.

research Involvement of Follicular Stem Cells in Forming Not Only the Follicle but Also the Epidermis

1010 citations , August 2000 in “Cell”

In this study, researchers found that hair follicle stem cells in mice can generate both hair follicle and epidermis cells, highlighting their potential bipotency.

research Conditional Disruption of Hedgehog Signaling Pathway Defines Its Critical Role in Hair Development and Regeneration

194 citations , May 2000 in “Journal of Investigative Dermatology”

This study demonstrated that blocking the Sonic hedgehog signaling pathway in mice led to reversible inhibition of body coat hair morphogenesis, while whisker development was unaffected.

research Induction of Basal Cell Carcinomas and Trichoepitheliomas in Mice Overexpressing GLI-1

380 citations , March 2000 in “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences”

This study demonstrates that mice with ectopic expression of the human GLI-1 gene in their skin developed tumors resembling human basal cell carcinoma, suggesting that GLI-1 is central to tumor development without additional p53 or Ha ras mutations.

research Induction of Basal Cell Carcinomas and Trichoepitheliomas in Mice Overexpressing GLI-1

333 citations , March 2000 in “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences”

In this study, researchers established that increased expression of the human GLI-1 gene in mouse skin leads to the development of tumors that closely resemble human basal cell carcinomas, without requiring additional mutations in the p53 or Ha ras genes.

research Induction of the Hair Growth Phase in Postnatal Mice by Localized Transient Expression of Sonic Hedgehog

231 citations , October 1999 in “Journal of Clinical Investigation”

This study found that administering an adenovirus vector to increase Sonic hedgehog gene expression in mouse skin accelerated the transition of hair follicles into the growth phase, promoting hair growth.

research Activation of the Transcription Factor Gli1 and the Sonic Hedgehog Signaling Pathway in Skin Tumors

638 citations , October 1997 in “Nature”

research The Secret Life of the Hair Follicle

745 citations , February 1992 in “Trends in genetics”

This article describes the potential role of various growth factors and molecules in regulating mammalian hair follicle development but does not present new experimental results.