| First Author | Gat U | Year | 1998 |
| Journal | Cell | Volume | 95 |
| Issue | 5 | Pages | 605-14 |
| PubMed ID | 9845363 | Mgi Jnum | J:51296 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:1314998 | Doi | 10.1016/s0092-8674(00)81631-1 |
| Citation | Gat U, et al. (1998) De Novo hair follicle morphogenesis and hair tumors in mice expressing a truncated beta-catenin in skin. Cell 95(5):605-14 |
| abstractText | 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 glands and dermal papilla, normally established only in embryogenesis. As in embryologically initiated hair germs, transgenic follicles induce Lef- 1, but follicles are disoriented and defective in sonic hedgehog polarization. Additionally, proliferation continues unchecked, resulting in two types of tumors also found in humans. Our findings suggest that transient beta-catenin stabilization may be a key player in the long-sought epidermal signal leading to hair development and implicate aberrant beta-catenin activation in hair tumors. |
