May 2022 in “Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology” This study identified that in pig embryos, the miR-29a-5p/EDAR/lncRNA627.1 ceRNA complex plays a critical role in inhibiting hair placode precursor cells proliferation and regulating hair placode formation through the suppression of EDAR expression, which may provide insights into similar mechanisms affecting human hair conditions.
April 2018 in “Journal of Investigative Dermatology” Key signals for hair follicle formation were identified.
2 citations
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September 2018 in “bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)” This study found that dermal condensates are specified before hair follicle niche formation and require FGF20 and Wnt signaling for precursor specification, advancing understanding of niche formation and function during development.
September 2013 in “Regenerative Medicine” This summary reports that γδ T cells play a role in regulating hair follicle formation during wound healing in adult skin.
82 citations
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May 2009 in “Development” This study found that downregulation of EGF and KGF signaling is necessary for hair follicle initiation in placodes, revealing a new role for KGF in hair follicle formation in mice.
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.
April 2023 in “The journal of investigative dermatology/Journal of investigative dermatology” This study provided a dynamic 4D atlas showing the development process of mouse hair follicles through a telescope-like model, revealing new insights into the origin of hair follicle stem cells.
July 2023 in “bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)” This study found that back skin mesenchyme from mouse embryos can induce hair follicle formation even before dermal condensate formation, but R-spondin-1 alone or with a Bmp receptor inhibitor was not sufficient for hair follicle induction.
12 citations
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December 2020 in “Archives animal breeding/Archiv für Tierzucht” This study found that EDA and EDAR are expressed throughout cashmere goat fetal development and play a critical role in hair follicle formation by influencing gene expression in fibroblasts and epithelial cells.
In this study, Fgf20 was found to trigger movement and morphogenesis in dermal fibroblasts, facilitating dermal condensate formation essential for hair follicle development.
293 citations
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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.
April 2019 in “Journal of Investigative Dermatology” This study found that, in mice, different precursor populations give rise to Merkel cells in hairy versus glabrous skin, but their formation is controlled by a common genetic program involving FGFR2 signaling.
479 citations
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January 2005 in “BioEssays” This review introduces the morphological and molecular principles of hair follicle development but reports no new experimental results, focusing on recent insights and forming a working hypothesis.
117 citations
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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.
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.
2 citations
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February 2024 in “Nature cell biology” In this research, the authors identify coordinated mechanical forces as crucial for hair follicle development in mammals, with contractile, proliferative, and proteolytic activities facilitating the formation and sectioning of epithelial structures crucial for forming a functional tissue.
This study found that ARHGEF3 is crucial for hair follicle development in mice, as its absence leads to defects in placode compaction and impaired follicle downgrowth, highlighting its role in regulating cell shape rearrangements during embryogenesis.
April 2017 in “Journal of Investigative Dermatology” This study suggests that dermal Wnt/β-catenin activation timing is crucial for hair follicle initiation, with potential non-cell autonomous regulation of dermal condensate size.
45 citations
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January 2010 in “Forensic science international” This review discusses fetal hair follicle development and its importance for determining in utero drug exposure through neonatal hair, but it reports no new clinical results.
25 citations
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July 2008 in “British Journal of Dermatology” This study observed dynamic changes in CD10 and CD34 expression in fetal and adult human hair follicles during embryogenesis and hair cycling.
6 citations
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January 2019 in “Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications” This study suggests that Sox13, although dispensable for epidermal development, serves as a marker for early hair follicle development in Sox13-LacZ knock-in mice.
12 citations
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March 2022 in “Development” This review outlines the role of mechanical forces in the development of sensory organs like eyes and ears, emphasizing insights from recent animal studies and microfabricated organoid systems; it presents no new experimental results.
111 citations
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January 2007 in “Seminars in cell & developmental biology” This article reviews the similarities in early development processes of hair follicles, teeth, and mammary glands and reports no new experimental findings.
19 citations
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January 2015 in “Development” This study found that misexpression of Hoxc8 in mice led to ectopic mammary development and suggests Hox genes may play crucial roles in the regional specification and initiation of cutaneous accessory organs.
April 2023 in “The journal of investigative dermatology/Journal of investigative dermatology” This study developed protocols to create skin organoids with hair follicles and other appendages from human induced pluripotent stem cells, representing a significant step towards understanding hair follicle development and potential applications in modeling skin diseases and reconstructive surgeries.
4 citations
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June 2023 in “Journal of developmental biology” In this study, researchers propose that different vertebrate skin appendages, such as hair, feathers, and scales, evolved in parallel from a shared ancestral cell structure associated with teeth, dating back approximately 420 million years ago.
7 citations
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September 2017 in “Biomedical and Pharmacology Journal” This article discusses the early development of hair follicles with a focus on the formation of epidermal thickenings called placodes, reporting no new experimental results.
This study suggests that exogenous retinoic acid can alter the morphogenesis pathway of developing skin appendages when applied during the placodal stage, leading to changes like feather formation in atypical regions of chick embryos.
96 citations
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March 2007 in “Developmental biology” This study found that the Wnt inhibitor Dkk4 may play a role in regulating hair follicle development through a feedback loop with canonical Wnt signaling pathways.
105 citations
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October 2017 in “Stem cells” This review discusses Wnt signaling pathways in skin development and stem cell regulation, highlighting potential interactions with other pathways but reports no new findings.