Defining and Targeting Differentiation of Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer
June 2014
Studysummary This study found that basal cell carcinoma exhibits patterns of hair follicle differentiation but is stuck in telogen arrest, which can be rescued by adding noggin and TGF-β2 in vitro. Our plain-language summary of this paper — not a Tressless recommendation.
The study aimed to define patterns of human hair follicle differentiation in basal cell carcinoma (BCC) to identify potential therapeutic targets. Researchers analyzed 20 hair follicle-specific differentiation markers in 6 BCC samples and found that BCC exhibits differentiation patterns similar to hair follicles, expressing markers of the outer root sheath, companion layer, inner root sheath, and cuticle, but not the hair shaft. The study suggested that BCC is stuck in the telogen phase of the hair cycle due to autocrine expression of bone morphogenic proteins 2 and 4. In vitro experiments showed that inhibiting BMP signaling with noggin and adding TGF-β2 induced further differentiation, indicating potential therapeutic strategies for promoting BCC differentiation.
