293 citations
,
September 2004 in “Development” This study found that WNT signaling is essential for the initiation of mammary gland morphogenesis in embryonic mice, promoting placode development and potentially playing a critical role in skin appendage formation.
117 citations
,
April 2008 in “Developmental biology” This study identified that Eda-A1 unexpectedly induces placode inhibitors dkk4 and lrp4, indicating the importance of tightly regulated signaling for proper ectodermal organ development.
66 citations
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June 2004 in “Development” This study found that FGF signaling is necessary for the initiation of feather placode development in chicken embryos, with FGF10 being implicated as an early dermal signal in the process.
56 citations
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February 2012 in “Developmental biology” This study found that the absence of Sostdc1 in mice alters mammary gland and hair follicle development, particularly by increasing vibrissae numbers and causing unusual nipple-like structures.
January 2026 in “PLoS Biology” This study used developing mouse hair follicles to explore early epithelial bud formation, finding that the Rho GTPase regulator ARHGEF3 plays a crucial role in regulating cell fate and cadherin patterning, with knockouts showing disrupted morphology and increased straight hair follicle growth.