Promotion of Hair Follicle Development and Trichogenesis by Wnt-10b in Cultured Embryonic Skin and Reconstituted Skin

The study investigated the role of Wnt-10b, a protein secreted by activated lymphocytes, in the differentiation of skin epithelial cells and hair follicle development. It was found that Wnt-10b mRNA was expressed in Con A-stimulated lymphocytes and mouse embryonic stem cells, but not in unstimulated lymphocytes. The research highlighted the unique role of Wnt-10b in promoting epithelial differentiation and hair shaft growth, which was previously underexplored due to the unavailability of commercial Wnt-10b protein. The study used inbred female C3H/HeN mice and demonstrated that Wnt-10b activates the canonical pathway, enhancing the differentiation of immature epithelial cells into hair shaft and IRS lineages.

The study investigated the role of Wnt-10b in skin epithelial cell differentiation in vitro. Researchers constructed a plasmid carrying the Wnt-10b cDNA gene and introduced it into COS-7 cells to produce recombinant Wnt-10b (rWnt-10b) protein. The study found that Wnt-10b promoted the differentiation of skin epithelial cells, which exhibited characteristics of the hair shaft and inner root sheath of hair follicles. This suggested that Wnt-10b might play a significant role in hair follicle development and regeneration, as its expression was upregulated during the onset of follicle morphogenesis and in postnatal hair follicles beginning a new cycle of hair growth.