Hair growth cycles and wave patterns in "nude" mice.

Hair growth cycles and waves were studied through five generations of hair growth in C57BL/6Icr "nude" mice. One group of nudes received thymus grafts, a second group was composed of athymid nudes and a third consisted of heterozygous (nu/&) haired littermates. The results showed that hair growth cycles and wave patterns were essentially the same in thymus-restored nudes and athymic nudes which indicated that thymus did not play a role in these phenomena. The time interval between hair cycles was considerably shorter in both groups of nude mice as compared to heterozygotes (nu/&). Finally, the hair growth wave pattern in nude mice did not change throughout the generation of hair growth whereas profound changes in wave patterns were observed in heterozygous (nu/&) littermates.