Alopecia in Harlequin mutant mice is associated with reduced AIF protein levels and expression of retroviral elements.
Mamm Genome
; 32(1): 12-29, 2021 02.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-33367954
ABSTRACT
We investigated the contribution of apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF), a key regulator of mitochondrial biogenesis, in supporting hair growth. We report that pelage abnormalities developed during hair follicle (HF) morphogenesis in Harlequin (Hq) mutant mice. Fragility of the hair cortex was associated with decreased expression of genes encoding structural hair proteins, though key transcriptional regulators of HF development were expressed at normal levels. Notably, Aifm1 (R200 del) knockin males and Aifm1(R200 del)/Hq females showed minor hair defects, despite substantially reduced AIF levels. Furthermore, we cloned the integrated ecotropic provirus of the Aifm1Hq allele. We found that its overexpression in wild-type keratinocyte cell lines led to down-regulation of HF-specific Krt84 and Krtap3-3 genes without altering Aifm1 or epidermal Krt5 expression. Together, our findings imply that pelage paucity in Hq mutant mice is mechanistically linked to severe AIF deficiency and is associated with the expression of retroviral elements that might potentially influence the transcriptional regulation of structural hair proteins.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Gene Expression Regulation
/
Endogenous Retroviruses
/
Disease Susceptibility
/
Apoptosis Inducing Factor
/
Alopecia
/
Mutation
Type of study:
Risk_factors_studies
Limits:
Animals
Language:
En
Journal:
Mamm Genome
Journal subject:
GENETICA
Year:
2021
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Germany