Abstract
Simple SummaryCashmere is the fiber derived from cashmere goats. Its textiles have been favored by consumers due to their typical features, like fine, light, softness, and comfort. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are thought to play roles in cashmere growth of cashmere goats. CircRNA-1926 was previously identified in cashmere goats, but its functional roles are unclear. In this study, we firstly confirmed the expression of circRNA-1926 in secondary hair follicle bulge of cashmere goats with a significantly higher level at anagen than the counterpart of telogen. Next, we showed that circRNA-1926 promotes the differentiation of hair follicle stem cell into hair follicle lineage in cashmere goats. Mechanistically, we found that circRNA-1926 regulated the CDK19 expression via sponging miR-148a/b-3p. Our results have demonstrated that circRNA-1926 promotes the differentiation of secondary hair follicle stem cells into hair follicle lineages in cashmere goats through sponging miR-148a/b-3p to promote the expression of the CDK19 gene. The results from this study provided novel insight into the functional roles of circRNA-1926 in hair follicle regeneration and cashmere growth.Circular RNAs (CircRNAs) are a type of non-coding RNAs, which contain a covalently closed loop structure without 5′ to 3′ free ends. CircRNAs play essential roles in the regeneration of secondary hair follicle (SHF) and cashmere growth in goats. CircRNA-1926 was previously identified in SHF of cashmere goats, but its potential roles are unclear. In this study, we confirmed the expression of circRNA-1926 in SHF bulge of nine cashmere goats with a significantly higher level at anagen than that of telogen. Through the use of both overexpression and siRNA interference, we showed that circRNA-1926 promoted the differentiation of SHF stem cell into hair follicle lineage in cashmere goats which was evaluated via indictor genes Keratin 7 and Keratin 17. Using RNA pull-down, we found that circRNA-1926 bound with miR-148a/b-3p. Additionally, our data indicated that circRNA-1926 promoted the expression of the CDK19 gene. Using dual-luciferase reporter assays, it was revealed that circRNA-1926 positively regulated the CDK19 expression through miR-148a/b-3p. The results from this study demonstrated that circRNA-1926 contributes the differentiation of SHF stem cells into hair follicle lineages in cashmere goats via sponging miR-148a/b-3p to enhance CDK19 expression.
Highlights
Cashmere is precious natural protein fiber derived from cashmere goats, and its textiles have been favored by consumers due to their typical features, like fine, light, softness, and comfort [1,2].In cashmere goats, the cashmere growth is controlled by biological cycles of secondary hair follicle (SHF) consisting of anagen, catagen, and telogen [3]
The SHF stem cells mainly are found in SHF bulge, and they are a kind of cells with multi-directional differentiation potential and extensive plasticity [4]
Cytosine (C) in circRNA-1926 (Figure 1b), which are highly similar with the reported case on lncRNAs [25]
Summary
Cashmere is precious natural protein fiber derived from cashmere goats, and its textiles have been favored by consumers due to their typical features, like fine, light, softness, and comfort [1,2]. During SHF anagen, the differentiation event of SHF stem cells into hair follicle lineages is closely related to the regeneration and growth of SHF in cashmere goats. Non-coding RNAs might play roles in regulating the differentiation of hair follicle stem cells into hair follicle lineages, like miR-22 [13], and LncRNA-PlncRNA. It was speculated that circRNAs might be involved in regulating the differentiation of hair follicle stem cells into hair follicle lineages in cashmere goats. We explored the potential mechanisms of circRNA-1926 in prompting the differentiation of SHF stem cells into hair follicle lineages. The results from this investigation will provide novel insight into the biological significance of circRNA-1926 in SHF regeneration and cashmere growth in goats. Our results provide new ideas and scientific basis for artificially regulating the cyclical growth of cashmere to increase cashmere yield and improve cashmere quality in goats
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