Zhu Kuicheng, Xu Cunshuan, Zhang Jintao, Chen Yingying, Liu Mengduan
Key Laboratory for Bioengineering, Henan Normal University, No. 46 East of Construction Road, Xinxiang City, Henan Province 453007, P.R. China.
Laboratory Animal Center of Zhengzhou University, No. 40 University Road, Zhengzhou City, Henan Province 450052, P.R. China.
Exp Anim. 2017 Oct 30;66(4):379-386. doi: 10.1538/expanim.16-0115. Epub 2017 Jul 5.
Mutations in the hairless (Hr) gene in both mice and humans have been implicated in the development of congenital atrichia, but the role of Hr in skin and hair follicle (HF) biology remains unknown. Here, we established transgenic mice (TG) overexpressing mutant Hr to investigate its specific role in the development of HF. Three transgenic lines were successfully constructed, and two of them (TG3 and TG8) displayed a pattern of hair loss and regrowth with alternation in the expression of HR protein. The mutant Hr gene inhibited the expression of the endogenous gene in transgenic individuals, which led to the development of alopecia. Interestingly, the hair regrew with the increase in the endogenous expression levels resulting from decreased mutant Hr expression. The findings of our study indicate that the changes in the expression of Hr result in hair loss or regrowth.
小鼠和人类无毛（Hr）基因的突变都与先天性脱发的发生有关，但Hr在皮肤和毛囊（HF）生物学中的作用仍然未知。在这里，我们建立了过表达突变型Hr的转基因小鼠（TG），以研究其在毛囊发育中的具体作用。成功构建了三个转基因品系，其中两个（TG3和TG8）表现出脱发和再生的模式，HR蛋白的表达交替出现。突变型Hr基因抑制了转基因个体中内源基因的表达，导致脱发的发生。有趣的是，随着突变型Hr表达降低导致内源表达水平升高，毛发得以再生。我们的研究结果表明，Hr表达的变化会导致脱发或再生。
