Highly Upregulated Lhx2 in the Foxn1−/− Nude Mouse Phenotype Reflects a Dysregulated and Expanded Epidermal Stem Cell Niche

May 2013 in “ PloS one ”

Stefan Bohr, Suraj J. Patel, Radovan Vasko, K. Robert Shen, Guofeng Huang, Martin L. Yarmush, François Berthiaume

TLDR The Foxn1(-/-) nude mouse shows disrupted and expanded skin stem cell areas due to high Lhx2 levels.

The study investigated the impact of the Foxn1(-/-) nude mouse phenotype on epithelial progeny, focusing on hair cycling and stem cell regulation. Researchers found a significant upregulation of LIM homeobox protein 2 (Lhx2), essential for hair cycle progression, indicating a dysregulated and expanded epidermal stem cell niche. Histological evidence and erratic CyclinD1 levels suggested a frustrated expansion of these niches. CD49f/CD34/CD200 profiling showed significant shifts in epithelial subpopulations, including an increase in Oct4+ stem cells in dermal fractions. The findings highlighted the Foxn1(-/-) phenotype's strong influence on epithelial progeny, presenting it as a valuable model for studying stem cell niche regulation in skin.

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