Twist2 Contributes to Skin Regeneration and Hair Follicle Formation in Mouse Fetuses

March 2024 in “ Research Square (Research Square) ”

Kento Takaya, Ayano Sunohara, Shigeki Sakai, Noriko Aramaki-Hattori, Keisuke Okabe, Kazuo Kishi

Twist2 hair follicle formation skin regeneration dermis embryonic day 13 dermal fibroblasts wound healing non-scarring wound healing regenerative medicine scarless healing

Studysummary In this study, researchers found that the protein Twist2 plays a crucial role in scarless wound healing in early embryonic mouse skins, with its knockdown leading to visible scarring and defective hair follicle formation, suggesting potential therapeutic targets for reducing scars and promoting regeneration. Our plain-language summary of this paper — not a Tressless recommendation.

The study focused on the role of Twist2 in fetal wound healing and hair follicle development in mice. It was found that Twist2 expression is crucial for proper skin regeneration and hair follicle formation, with upregulation in the dermis at embryonic day 13 (E13) and downregulation at later stages (E15 and E17). Knockdown of Twist2 at E13 led to impaired regeneration and defective hair follicle formation, while Twist2 knockout mice exhibited visible scarring and no hair follicle regeneration. The study also showed that Twist2 knockdown reduced the migratory capacity of dermal fibroblasts, which is essential for wound healing. These findings suggest that Twist2 is a key factor in non-scarring wound healing and hair follicle development in mouse fetuses, with potential implications for regenerative medicine and scarless healing. The experiments were performed in triplicate and statistical significance was set at P<0.05.

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