Comprehensive Analysis of LncRNA AC010789.1 Delays Androgenic Alopecia Progression by Targeting MicroRNA-21 and the Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling Pathway in Hair Follicle Stem Cells.

Jiachao Xiong,Hua Jiang,Baojin Wu,Qiang Hou,Lingling Jia,Yufei Li,Xin Huang

doi:10.3389/fgene.2022.782750

Abstract

Background: Androgen alopecia (AGA), the most common type of alopecia worldwide, has become an important medical and social issue. Accumulating evidence indicates that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play crucial roles in the progression of various human diseases, including AGA. However, the potential roles of lncRNAs in hair follicle stem cells (HFSCs) and their subsequent relevance for AGA have not been fully elucidated. The current study aimed to explore the function and molecular mechanism of the lncRNA AC010789.1 in AGA progression. Methods: We investigated the expression levels of AC010789.1 in AGA scalp tissues compared with that in normal tissues and explored the underlying mechanisms using bioinformatics. HFSCs were then isolated from hair follicles of patients with AGA, and an AC010789.1-overexpressing HFSC line was produced and verified. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blotting were performed to verify the molecular mechanisms involved. Results: AC010789.1 overexpression promoted the proliferation and differentiation of HFSCs. Mechanistically, we demonstrated that AC010789.1 overexpression promotes the biological function of HFSCs by downregulating miR-21-5p and TGF-β1 expression but upregulating the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Conclusion: These results reveal that overexpression of AC010789.1 suppresses AGA progression via downregulation of hsa-miR-21-5p and TGF-β1 and promotion of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, highlighting a potentially promising strategy for AGA treatment.

Highlights

Alopecia, a common disorder occurring worldwide, characterized by hair loss, can be caused by multiple factors, such as heredity, hormonal disorders, immune inflammation, malnutrition, environmental factors, mental disorders, and aging (Ho and Shapiro, 2019)
The current study aimed to explore the potential function of the long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) AC010789.1 in Androgen alopecia (AGA) progression
To investigate the role of lncRNAs in AGA, we used the gene expression microarray data set GSE84839, which included the data of three pairs of male scalp AGA and adjacent normal tissues

Summary

Introduction

A common disorder occurring worldwide, characterized by hair loss, can be caused by multiple factors, such as heredity, hormonal disorders, immune inflammation, malnutrition, environmental factors, mental disorders, and aging (Ho and Shapiro, 2019). Androgen alopecia (AGA) is the most common type of alopecia and has become an important medical and social issue due to its high incidence; increasingly young onset age; and associated psychological problems, such as depression, anxiety, and emotional disorders (Bas et al, 2015; Molina-Leyva et al, 2016; Katzer et al, 2019; Ding et al, 2020). Finasteride and minoxidil are the only therapeutic drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration for AGA treatment (Chen et al, 2020a). Androgen alopecia (AGA), the most common type of alopecia worldwide, has become an important medical and social issue. The potential roles of lncRNAs in hair follicle stem cells (HFSCs) and their subsequent relevance for AGA have not been fully elucidated. The current study aimed to explore the function and molecular mechanism of the lncRNA AC010789.1 in AGA progression

Methods

Results

Conclusion