Publications by authors named "Rachel E Benedeck"
Article Synopsis
- Our skin acts as a protective shield, primarily through the interfollicular epidermis, but the role of hair follicles in this process is not fully understood.
- A study using a genetic tool to disable the Abca12 gene, linked to a severe skin condition, uncovered four ways hair follicles influence skin barrier function.
- These include the upper hair follicle forming a barrier, triggering epidermal responses when disrupted, affecting sebum release, and causing hair follicle cells to migrate into the epidermis; blocking IL-17a helped ease some symptoms.
Article Synopsis
- Hair follicles play a significant role in skin barrier function, which is crucial for protection against environmental factors.
- By using a genetic tool to study the deletion of a key gene linked to a severe skin condition, researchers discovered four specific ways hair follicles influence barrier function.
- The study also highlights the potential of targeting Il17a to improve certain skin disease symptoms related to barrier dysfunction.
The emergence of hair is a defining event during mammalian skin development, but the cellular mechanisms leading to the opening of the hair follicle canal remain poorly characterized. Our previous studies have shown that early hair buds possess a central column of differentiated keratinocytes expressing Keratin 79 (K79), which marks the future hair follicle opening. Here, we report that during late embryogenesis and early postnatal development, K79+ cells at the distal tips of these columns downregulate E-cadherin, change shape, recede and undergo cell death.
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