The Hairless Gene: A Putative Navigator of Hair Follicle Development

Abstract

Abstract The Hairless (HR) gene regulates the expression of sev-eral target genes as a transcriptional corepressor of nu-clear receptors. The hair follicle (HF), a small independ-ent organ of the skin, resides in the epidermis and un-dergoes regenerative cycling for normal hair formation. HF development requires many genes and signaling pathways to function properly in time and space, one of them being the HR gene. Various mutations of the HR gene have been reported to cause the hair loss pheno-type in rodents and humans. In recent studies, it has been suggested that the HR gene is a critical player in the regulation of the hair cycle and, thus, HF develop-ment. Furthermore, the HR gene is associated with the Wnt signaling pathway, which regulates proliferation and differentiation of cells and plays an essential role in hair and skin development. In this review, we summarize the mutations responsible for human hair disorders and dis-cuss the roles of the HR gene in HF development. Keywords: hairless, corepressor, hair follicle, hair cycle, hair loss