LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY, THE
Grant: $646,580 - National Institutes of Health - Sep. 24, 2009
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Award Description: Adult stem cells are multipotent cells that possess the capacity for programmed organ replacement and carry the promise of induced organ repair in response to injury or damage. Murine hair follicles provide an invaluable approach to modeling fundamental processes of regeneration and provide a unique opportunity to define cellular mechanisms by which complex development events are modulated and organized by tissue morphogens. The murine hair follicle undergoes repeated, genetically controlled cycles of proliferation (anagen), regression (catagen) and quiescence (telogen). Intense recent focus has come to elucidate the controls of stem cell quiescence and the timing of re-entering a new anagen stage. Previous studies have shown several key signaling pathways stimulate anagen, such as the Wnt and Sonic hedgehog (Shh) pathways. Research funded through the parent grant 5ARO54780 has addressed the epithelial signaling inputs that control anagen via Shh signaling. We have detailed how the stability of the key transcription factors in the Shh pathway, the Gli proteins, are regulated. More recently, we have found that protein stability of the anagen signaling pathways appears to be a key point of regulation to turn anagen off and enforce telogen. By contrast, while recent data supports the Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP) and calcineurin/NFAT pathways in maintaining quiescence, the higher order mechanisms of cycle timing remain poorly understood. The involvement of calcineurin/NFAT led us to investigate the role of calcium regulatory proteins in hair cycling. The purpose of this research is to investigate how calcium regulates hair follicle quiescence.
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This award's data was last updated on Sep. 24, 2009. Help expand these official descriptions using the wiki below.
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