October 2025 in “Clinical Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology” This study synthesizes knowledge of how dendritic cell signals, epithelial integrins, and fibroblast activity converge on TGF-β1 to maintain or disrupt skin healing, contrasting normal and fibrotic scar formation and suggesting possible integrin and immune-targeted treatments for skin fibrosis.
April 2023 in “Journal of Investigative Dermatology” This study found that the dermal sheath smooth muscle regulates hair follicle progenitor cell death during hair regression through mechanical signaling of the TGF-β pathway.
September 2017 in “The journal of investigative dermatology/Journal of investigative dermatology” This study reports that the loss of Langerhans cells in lichen planopilaris scars may be linked to the downregulation of ITG αvβ6, which is not seen in other scar formation diseases.
6 citations
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October 2024 in “Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology” This study reported that the use of composite RGDmix hydrogel improved the survival and proliferation of human amniotic mesenchymal stem cells and increased growth factor expression, enhancing wound healing through the RGDSP/integrin αv/PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.
This study found that αvβ6 integrin inhibits keratinocyte proliferation during wound healing and hair regeneration, suggesting its downregulation may enhance recovery and influence epidermal stem cell behavior.
25 citations
,
June 2022 in “Developmental cell” In this study, Hedgehog signaling in dermal papilla fibroblasts was found to accelerate hair growth and induce follicle multiplication in mice via the SCUBE3/TGF-β pathway, with some effects observed in human scalp hair follicles.
132 citations
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August 2012 in “Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - General Subjects” This review discusses the roles of TGF-β family signaling in regulating normal and cancer stem cells and highlights the need for further research to develop potential cancer treatments; it reports no new results.
82 citations
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February 2017 in “Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology” The TGF-β family helps control how cells change and move, affecting skin, hair, and organ development.
4 citations
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April 2024 in “Cellular and Molecular Biology” In this study, injectable platelet-rich fibrin (i-PRF) was found to enhance the proliferative, migratory, and hair-inducing abilities of dermal papilla cells more effectively than platelet-rich plasma through the TGF-β/Smad pathway.
April 2020 in “Research Square (Research Square)” This study found that exosomes derived from human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells significantly promote cutaneous wound healing in rats by modulating the TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway.
October 2025 in “Records of Natural Products” This research found that kaempferol, a flavonoid from hair growth-promoting plants, significantly enhanced human dermal papilla cell proliferation and inhibited specific signaling pathways, outperforming minoxidil, with topical application in mice promoting hair growth and thickness, indicating potential as a natural hair loss treatment.
12 citations
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July 2025 in “Journal of Clinical and Translational Hepatology” This review discusses how targeting TGF-β with specific inhibitors, including components from Traditional Chinese Medicine, may help reduce liver fibrosis by acting through various signaling pathways.
April 2026 in “Inflammopharmacology” This study found that Punica granatum ethanolic leaf extract may alleviate skin fibrosis in rats by modulating inflammation-related pathways and reducing dermal alterations.
18 citations
,
February 2022 in “Cell Death Discovery” In this study, researchers found that hair follicle-derived mesenchymal stem cells, modified to overexpress extracellular matrix protein 1, significantly improved liver function and reduced liver damage in cirrhotic mice by inhibiting hepatic stellate cell activation and TGF-β/Smad signaling.
4 citations
,
March 2017 in “Development” This study found that specialized nipple epidermis in mice is maintained by the repression of TGFβ signaling through estrogen, which highlights the role of hormonal regulation in epidermal maintenance.
July 2025 in “Journal of Investigative Dermatology” Schwann cell and M2 macrophage interactions contribute to keloid growth by increasing matrix deposition.
August 2023 in “Journal of Investigative Dermatology” This study using scRNA-seq on 96 skin biopsies from 51 healthy individuals revealed distinct cell signaling pathways in different skin sites, including unique pathways in facial and palmoplantar skin, which may explain their varying susceptibilities to skin disorders.
44 citations
,
January 2013 in “BMC Dermatology” This study found that TGFβ signaling is essential for keeping sebocytes undifferentiated by reducing lipid-related gene expression, using a novel human sebocyte culture model.
28 citations
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November 2018 in “Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine” This review discusses the role of the CXXC5 protein as a transcription factor and signaling coordinator, noting its involvement in embryonic development, tissue homeostasis, and diseases such as tumorigenesis, but reports no new experimental findings.
5 citations
,
February 2017 in “Biomolecules & Therapeutics” The authors reported that 4-O-methylhonokiol decreased TGF-β1-induced cell cycle arrest and oxidative stress markers in human keratinocyte cells, suggesting a potential protective role in TGF-β1-mediated cell cycle regulation.
321 citations
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January 2012 in “Cell stem cell” This study identified TGF-β2 as a crucial signal in hair follicle stem cell regeneration, highlighting its role in counteracting BMP signaling to promote tissue regeneration.
12 citations
,
September 2007 in “Wound repair and regeneration” This study found that in vivo bioluminescence can track Smad2/3-dependent TGF-β signaling during the wound healing process in mice, with signaling increasing after healing rather than immediately post-wounding.
January 2019 in “Advances in stem cells and their niches” This review outlines the various fibroblast subsets in the skin dermis, their origins, and their influence on epidermal stem cell behavior, highlighting the role of the local dermal niche in stem cell plasticity.
1 citations
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July 2025 in “Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology B Biology” Photobiomodulation helps protect hair follicle cells from damage caused by DHT.
1 citations
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February 2023 in “Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research” This study found that polysulfonic acid mucopolysaccharide may reduce skin scarring in rats by influencing the TGF-β1/Smad signaling pathway.
August 2023 in “Research Square (Research Square)” This study found that two microRNAs, oar-miR-23b and oar-miR-133, inhibit the development of hair follicles in superfine wool sheep by targeting genes involved in key signaling pathways, suggesting their potential use as molecular markers for breeding fine wool sheep.
115 citations
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February 2016 in “Nature Communications” The authors concluded that the dermal response to epidermal Wnt/β-catenin signaling depends on distinct fibroblast lineages, with each responding to different paracrine signals such as Hedgehog and TGF-β.
26 citations
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September 2018 in “Journal of Molecular Cell Biology” This study observed that Endoglin is crucial for maintaining correct hair follicle cycling and stimulating hair follicle stem cell niches through feedback interactions involving Wnt/β-catenin and Bmp/Smad signaling pathways in a mouse model.
9 citations
,
January 2023 in “International Journal of Biological Sciences” This study suggests that CTHRC1, a protein expressed in cardiac fibroblasts, may improve wound repair and prevent cardiac rupture after myocardial infarction by activating a specific signaling pathway.
1 citations
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January 2018 in “Recent clinical techniques, results, and research in wounds” This review discusses the similarities between wound healing and embryonic development, focusing on signaling pathways and their potential for developing new wound healing strategies, and reports no new clinical results.