Epidermal Wnt/Beta-Catenin Signaling Promotes Dermal Adipocyte Differentiation During Hair Follicle Morphogenesis and Regeneration

The document discusses various studies on hair follicle biology and skin cell differentiation. It highlights the importance of FGF18 signaling in maintaining hair cycle phases in mice, with its absence leading to a rapid succession of hair cycles. The human induced pluripotent stem cell line 201B7 was shown to have a strong WNT signaling pathway, which is crucial for hair follicle regeneration. BNIP3 was identified as necessary for the differentiation and maintenance of epidermal keratinocytes. The research also found that epidermal Wnt/beta-catenin signaling is involved in regulating dermal adipocyte differentiation during hair follicle development and repair. Additionally, Runx1 and Runx3 transcription factors play a role in keratinocyte differentiation and proliferation. In the context of alopecia areata, the chemokine CXCL10 was found to be significant in inducing Th1/Tc1 cell infiltration in acute phases and maintaining Tc1 cell accumulation in chronic phases. Lastly, estrogen's role in inducing VEGF expression in dermal papilla cells was noted, which may be relevant to female pattern hair loss.