Lef1 and Dlx3 May Facilitate the Maturation of Secondary Hair Follicles in the Skin of Gansu Alpine Merino

Hongxian Sun; Zhaohua He; Qiming Xi; Fangfang Zhao; Jiang Hu; Jiqing Wang; Xiu Liu; Zhidong Zhao; Mingna Li; Yuzhu Luo; Shaobin Li

doi:10.3390/genes13081326

Lef1 and Dlx3 May Facilitate the Maturation of Secondary Hair Follicles in the Skin of Gansu Alpine Merino

Genes (Basel). 2022 Jul 25;13(8):1326. doi: 10.3390/genes13081326.

Authors

Hongxian Sun¹, Zhaohua He¹, Qiming Xi¹, Fangfang Zhao¹, Jiang Hu¹, Jiqing Wang¹, Xiu Liu¹, Zhidong Zhao¹, Mingna Li¹, Yuzhu Luo¹, Shaobin Li¹

Affiliation

¹ Gansu Key Laboratory of Herbivorous Animal Biotechnology, Faculty of Animal Science and Technology, International Wool Research Institute, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China.

Abstract

Lymphatic enhancer factor 1 (Lef1) and distal-less homeobox 3 (Dlx3) are the transcription factors involved in regulating hair follicle development in mice, goats, and other animals. Their deletion can lead to hair follicle deficiency. In this study, hematoxylin−eosin staining (HE), real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR), immunohistochemistry, and immunofluorescence were used to analyze the expression, location, and biological functions of Lef1 and Dlx3 in the lateral skin of Gansu Alpine Merino aged 1, 30, 60, and 90 days. The results revealed that the number of hair follicles decreased with age and was significantly higher at 1 day than in the other three age groups (p < 0.05). The mRNA levels of Lef1 and Dlx3 in the skin of 30-day old Gansu Alpine Merino were significantly higher than those in the other three age groups (p < 0.05). Protein expression of Lef1 and Dlx3 was lowest at 1 day (p < 0.05) and peaked at 60 days. Lef1 and Dlx3 exhibited a high density and strong positive expression in the dermal papillae; additionally, Dlx3 exhibited a high density and strong positive expression in the inner and outer root sheaths. Collectively, Lef1 and Dlx3 may facilitate the maturation of secondary hair follicles, which is mainly achieved through the dermal papillae and inner and outer root sheaths.

Keywords: Dlx3; Gansu Alpine Merino; Lef1; hair follicle; spatiotemporal expression.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Hair Follicle*
Homeodomain Proteins* / genetics
Lymphoid Enhancer-Binding Factor 1* / genetics
Regulatory Sequences, Nucleic Acid
Sheep, Domestic / genetics
Skin / metabolism
Transcription Factors* / genetics

Substances

Homeodomain Proteins
Lymphoid Enhancer-Binding Factor 1
Transcription Factors

Grants and funding

This study was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32060140), the Distinguished Young Scholars Fund of Gansu Province (21JR7RA857), and Fuxi Young Talents Fund of Gansu Agricultural University (Gaufx-03Y04).