TY  - JOUR
TI  - Wnt target gene Ascl4 is dispensable for skin appendage development
AU  - Papagno, Verdiana
AU  - Sulic, Ana-Marija
AU  - Satta, JyotiP.
AU  - Hoshiar, Aida Kaffash
AU  - Kumar, Vinod
AU  - Jernvall, Jukka
AU  - Mikkola, MarjaL.
T2  - The International Journal of Developmental Biology
AB  - The development of skin appendages, including hair follicles, teeth and mammary glands is initiated through the formation of the placode, a local thickening of the epithelium. The Wnt/β-catenin signaling cascade is an evolutionary conserved pathway with an essential role in placode morphogenesis, but its downstream targets and their exact functions remain ill defined. In this study, we identify Achaete-scute complex-like 4 (Ascl4) as a novel target of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway and demonstrate its expression pattern in the signaling centers of developing hair follicles and teeth. Ascl transcription factors belong to the superfamily of basic helix-loop-helix transcriptional regulators involved in cell fate determination in many tissues. However, their specific role in the developing skin remains largely unknown. We report that Ascl4 null mice have no overt phenotype. Absence of Ascl4 did not impair hair follicle morphogenesis or hair shaft formation suggesting that it is non-essential for hair follicle development. No tooth or mammary gland abnormalities were detected either. We suggest that other transcription factors may functionally compensate for the absence of Ascl4, but further research is warranted to assess this possibility.			
PY  - 2024
DO  - 10.1387/ijdb.240007vp
VL  - In Press
IS  - In Press
SP  - 7
EP  - 7
J2  - Int. J. Dev. Biol.
LA  - en
SN  - 0214-6282
SN  - 1696-3547
UR  - https://ijdb.ehu.eus/article/240007vp
Y2  - 2024/07/03/05:33:27
ER  -