Du Jiamian, Sui Menghua, Song Zhihao, Liang Shuangshuang, Zheng Yujie, Wang Xin
Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, China.
BMC Genomics. 2025 May 19;26(1):505. doi: 10.1186/s12864-025-11642-6.
Shaanbei white cashmere goat is an excellent cashmere goat breed, and its market favored cashmere from the secondary hair follicles. Hair follicles mature around birth and each hair follicle repeatedly undergoes a growth cycle that comprises three distinct stages: anagen, catagen and telogen. Understanding the molecular mechanisms controlling cyclic hair follicle changes is essential for optimizing hair follicle function and improving cashmere production.
The circRNA expression profile in the hair follicle cycle was constructed and differentially expressed circRNAs were identified, with particular focus on circ 0020938, which was highly expressed during anagen. The functional assays were performed to assess the effect of circ 0020938 on hair follicle stem cells (HFSCs) proliferation. Competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network was constructed to investigate the interaction between circ 0020938, miR-142-5p, and DSG4. Rescue experiment was conducted to validate the impact of circ 0020938 on HFSCs proliferation and DSG4 expression.
We found that circ 0020938 inhibited HFSCs proliferation. Further analysis revealed that circ 0020938 acted as a sponge for miR-142-5p, alleviating the repression of DSG4. Additionally, we confirmed that DSG4 inhibited HFSCs proliferation, suggesting that it play a key role in regulating the balance between proliferation and differentiation during the hair follicle cycle. Rescue experiments showed that the inhibition of HFSCs proliferation by circ 0020938 was partially reversed by miR-142-5p.
Our study provides novel insights into the regulatory role of circRNA in HFSCs proliferation during the hair follicle cycle. The results demonstrate that circ 0020938 acts as a miRNA sponge and inhibits HFSCs proliferation through the miR-142-5p/DSG4 axis, thereby contributing to the proper progression of the hair follicle cycle.
陕北白绒山羊是优良的绒山羊品种，其市场青睐次级毛囊的羊绒。毛囊在出生前后成熟，每个毛囊反复经历一个生长周期，该周期包括三个不同阶段：生长期、退行期和休止期。了解控制毛囊周期性变化的分子机制对于优化毛囊功能和提高羊绒产量至关重要。
构建毛囊周期中的环状RNA表达谱并鉴定差异表达的环状RNA，特别关注在生长期高表达的circ 0020938。进行功能测定以评估circ 0020938对毛囊干细胞（HFSCs）增殖的影响。构建竞争性内源RNA（ceRNA）网络以研究circ 0020938、miR-142-5p和DSG4之间的相互作用。进行拯救实验以验证circ 0020938对HFSCs增殖和DSG4表达的影响。
我们发现circ 002093抑制HFSCs增殖。进一步分析表明，circ 0020938作为miR-142-5p的海绵，减轻了对DSG4的抑制。此外，我们证实DSG4抑制HFSCs增殖，表明其在调节毛囊周期中增殖与分化平衡方面起关键作用。拯救实验表明，miR-142-5p部分逆转了circ 0020938对HFSCs增殖的抑制作用。
我们的研究为环状RNA在毛囊周期中对HFSCs增殖的调控作用提供了新见解。结果表明，circ 0020938作为miRNA海绵，通过miR-142-5p/DSG4轴抑制HFSCs增殖，从而有助于毛囊周期的正常进行。
