Zou Yi, Tang Fangqi, Li Peiwen, Qiu Weiming, Lei Mingxing
Department of Burn and Plastic Surgery, General Hospital of Central Theater Command, Wuhan, 430000, China.
"111" Project Laboratory of Biomechanics and Tissue Repair, Key Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology of the Ministry of Education, College of Bioengineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China.
Stem Cell Rev Rep. 2025 Jun 13. doi: 10.1007/s12015-025-10898-5.
Hair follicles play an important role in maintaining the normal functions of the skin. The dynamic and alternating changes of diverse molecular signals determine hair follicle development and regeneration in the skin. Among the signals, Wnts, particularly Wnt10b is characterized to be especially important in regulating hair follicle behavior by specifically activating the canonical Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. In this review, we review the role of Wnt10b signaling in hair growth and regeneration. During embryonic development, Wnt10b promotes hair morphogenesis by inducing the formation of dermal papilla. Moreover, Wnt10b/β-catenin signaling not only governs the fate of hair follicle stem cells (HFSCs) but also coordinates HFSCs and melanocyte stem cells to facilitate pigmented hair regeneration. Interestingly, during wound healing, epidermis-derived Wnt10b initiates hair follicle neogenesis by promoting the dedifferentiation of epidermal keratinocytes and inducing the formation of dermal papilla. However, prolonged overexpression of Wnt10b in epidermal keratinocytes is associated with early-stage cell transformation, the occurrence of systemic sclerosis, and even the development of skin neoplasms. Therefore, a deeper understanding of the role of Wnt10b signaling in hair follicle development, regeneration, and skin diseases provides a rational basis for the development of translational medicine.
毛囊在维持皮肤正常功能中发挥着重要作用。多种分子信号的动态交替变化决定了皮肤中毛囊的发育和再生。在这些信号中，Wnts，尤其是Wnt10b，其特点是通过特异性激活经典的Wnt/β-连环蛋白信号通路，在调节毛囊行为方面尤为重要。在本综述中，我们回顾了Wnt10b信号在毛发生长和再生中的作用。在胚胎发育过程中，Wnt10b通过诱导真皮乳头的形成促进毛发形态发生。此外，Wnt10b/β-连环蛋白信号不仅控制毛囊干细胞（HFSCs）的命运，还协调HFSCs和黑素细胞干细胞以促进有色素毛发的再生。有趣的是，在伤口愈合过程中，表皮来源的Wnt10b通过促进表皮角质形成细胞的去分化和诱导真皮乳头的形成启动毛囊新生。然而，Wnt10b在表皮角质形成细胞中的长期过表达与早期细胞转化、系统性硬化症的发生甚至皮肤肿瘤的发展有关。因此，深入了解Wnt10b信号在毛囊发育、再生和皮肤疾病中的作用为转化医学的发展提供了合理依据。
