Lgr4 deletion delays the hair cycle and inhibits the activation of hair follicle stem cells

It is known that Lgr4 plays an important role in hair follicle development, but the impact of Lgr4 on hair cycle is still unclear. In the present study, we have found that K14-Cre-mediated skin epithelia-specific deletion of Lgr4 results in delayed anagen entry during physiological hair cycle and compromised hair follicle regeneration upon transplantation. We show that while Lgr4 deletion does not appear to affect the number of quiescent hair follicle stem cells, it leads to reduced numbers of Lgr5+ and actively proliferating stem cells in the hair follicles.

Source: Journal of Investigative Dermatology - February 4, 2020 Category: Dermatology Authors: Xiaolin Ren, Weili Xia, Peng Xu, Hongyang Shen, Xing Dai, Mingyao Liu, Yuling Shi, Xiyun Ye, Yongyan Dang Tags: Original Article Source Type: research