Distinct bulge stem cell populations maintain the pilosebaceous unit in a β-catenin-dependent manner
Jimin Han,
Kaijun Lin,
HuiQin Choo,
Yu Chen,
Xuezheng Zhang,
Ren-He Xu,
Xusheng Wang,
Yaojiong Wu
Affiliations
Jimin Han
School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
Kaijun Lin
School of Pharmaceutical Sciences (Shenzhen), Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
HuiQin Choo
Tsinghua-Berkeley Shenzhen Institute (TBSI), Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, China
Yu Chen
School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China; State Key Laboratory of Chemical Oncogenomics, and Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Health Sciences and Technology, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, China
Xuezheng Zhang
School of Pharmaceutical Sciences (Shenzhen), Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
Ren-He Xu
Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macau, China
Xusheng Wang
School of Pharmaceutical Sciences (Shenzhen), Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China; Corresponding author
Yaojiong Wu
School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China; State Key Laboratory of Chemical Oncogenomics, and Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Health Sciences and Technology, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, China; Corresponding author
Summary: The pilosebaceous unit (PSU) is composed of multiple compartments and the self-renewal of PSU depends on distinct hair follicle stem cell (HFSC) populations. However, the differential roles of the HFSCs in sebaceous gland (SG) renewal have not been completely understood. Here, we performed multiple lineage tracing analysis to unveil the contribution of different HFSC populations to PSU regeneration during the hair cycle and wound healing. Our results indicated that the upper bulge stem cells contributed extensively to the SG replenishment during hair cycling, while HFSCs in the lower bugle did not. During skin wound healing, all HFSC populations participated in the SG replenishment. Moreover, β-catenin activation promoted the contribution of HFSCs to SG replenishment, whereas β-catenin deletion substantially repressed the event. Thus, our findings indicated that HFSCs contributed to SG replenishment in a β-catenin-dependent manner.
