Sip1 is a member of the family of two-handed zinc finger/ homeodomain proteins identified as a DNA binding transcriptional repressor interacting with receptor-activated SMADs. SMADs are intracellular signal transducers activated by binding of TGFb/BMP ligands to their receptors and are involved in the control of cellular functions of embryonic development and tissue homeostasis. During mouse an...

We examined the pattern of expression in hair follicles of the transcription factor gene Krox-20. During embryogenesis, Krox-20 is first expressed in the upper portion of the hair bud, then in the hair canal, in the sebaceous glands and in the outer root sheath. In the mature follicles, Krox-20, like Shh and TGFbetaRII, is also expressed in a sub-population of matrix keratinocytes located in a ...

Estrogen dysregulation causes hair disorder. Clinical observations have demonstrated that estrogen raises the telogen/anagen ratio and inhibits hair shaft elongation of female scalp hair follicles. In spite of these clinical insights, the properties of estrogen on hair follicles are poorly dissected. In the present study, we show that estrogen induced apoptosis of precortex cells and caused pre...

Balding causes widespread psychological distress but is poorly controlled. The commonest treatment, minoxidil, was originally an antihypertensive drug that promoted unwanted hair. We hypothesized that another serendipitous discovery, increased eyelash growth side-effects of prostamide F(2α)-related eyedrops for glaucoma, may be relevant for scalp alopecias. Eyelash hairs and follicles are highl...

OBJECTIVE An experiment was conducted to determine the relationship between the KAP11.1 and the regulation wool fineness. METHODS In previous work, we constructed a skin cDNA library and isolated a full-length cDNA clone termed KAP11.1. On this basis, we conducted a series of bioinformatics analysis. Tissue distribution of KAP11.1 mRNA was performed using semi-quantitative reverse transcripti...

To assess whether Smad signaling affects skin development, we generated transgenic mice in which a Smad antagonist, Smad7, was induced in keratinocytes, including epidermal stem cells. Smad7 transgene induction perturbed hair follicle morphogenesis and differentiation, but accelerated sebaceous gland morphogenesis. Further analysis revealed that independent of its role in anti-Smad signaling, S...

An effector of intercellular adhesion, beta-catenin also functions in Wnt signaling, associating with Lef-1/Tcf DNA-binding proteins to form a transcription factor. We report that this pathway operates in keratinocytes and that mice expressing a stabilized beta-catenin controlled by an epidermal promoter undergo a process resembling de novo hair morphogenesis. The new follicles formed sebaceous...

Sip1 is a member of the family of two-handed zinc finger/ homeodomain proteins identified as a DNA binding transcriptional repressor interacting with receptor-activated SMADs. SMADs are intracellular signal transducers activated by binding of TGFb/BMP ligands to their receptors and are involved in the control of cellular functions of embryonic development and tissue homeostasis. During mouse an...

It has been generally accepted that, when all the hair follicles and sebaceous glands in a region of adult skin are destroyed, or the entire region is extirpated, the new epithelium growing in from the side will not regenerate these structures (14). On the basis of this concept, attempts were made to obtain a purely squamous sheet of epi thelium in the rabbit for the purpose of inoculating it w...

AIMS Follicular drug delivery is the prerequisite for an effective treatment of androgenetic alopecia or other reasons of premature hair loss. METHODS The follicular penetration of caffeine, applied topically in a shampoo formulation for 2 min, was measured with highly sensitive surface ionization in combination with mass spectroscopy, a selective method for the detection of very small quanti...