Cashmere Goat Secondary Hair Follicle Research Articles

CircERCC6 Positively Regulates the Induced Activation of SHF Stem Cells in Cashmere Goats via the miR-412-3p/BNC2 Axis in an m6A-Dependent Manner.

The cashmere, a kind of nature protein fiber, is one of the main use of cashmere goats. The induced activation of secondary hair follicle (SHF) stem cells by the dermal papilla cell-derived signals is a key biological process for the morphogenesis and growth of cashmere fiber in cashmere goats. Previously, the circRNA-ERCC6 (circERCC6) was identified from cashmere goat SHFs; however, its biological significance is unclear in the SHF physiology process of cashmere goats. In this study, we found that circERCC6 exhibited significantly higher expression at anagen SHF bulge compared with the counterpart of telogen and harbored three m6A modified sites (named m6A-685, m6A-862, and m6A-995) through methylation immunoprecipitation using a real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (Me-RIP-qPCR) technique. The knockdown experiments of circERCC6 in SHF stem cells showed that circERCC6 positively regulates the induced activation of SHF stem cells in cashmere goats. Through a dual-luciferase reporter assay, we demonstrated that m6A-modified circERCC6 (m6A-circERCC6) sponged miR-412-3p to upregulate the expression of BNC2 mRNA in SHFstem cells. Through m6A-deficient mutant assay in circERCC6 knockdown SHF stem cells, we further showed that m6A modification within circERCC6 is required to mediate the miR-412-3p/BNC2 axis to finally promote the proper induced activation of SHF stem cells in cashmere goats.

Skin transcriptome reveals the periodic changes in genes underlying cashmere (ground hair) follicle transition in cashmere goats

BackgroundCashmere goats make an outstanding contribution to the livestock textile industry and their cashmere is famous for its slenderness and softness and has been extensively studied. However, there are few reports on the molecular regulatory mechanisms of the secondary hair follicle growth cycle in cashmere goats. In order to explore the regular transition through the follicle cycle and the role of key genes in this cycle, we used a transcriptome sequencing technique to sequence the skin of Inner Mongolian cashmere goats during different months. We analyzed the variation and difference in genes throughout the whole hair follicle cycle. We then verified the regulatory mechanism of the cashmere goat secondary hair follicle growth cycle using fluorescence quantitative PCR.ResultsThe growth cycle of cashmere hair could be divided into three distinct periods: a growth period (March–September), a regression period (September–December), and a resting period (December–March). The results of differential gene analyses showed that March was the most significant month. Cluster analysis of gene expression throughout the whole growth cycle further supported the key nodes of the three periods of cashmere growth, and the differential gene expression of keratin corresponding to the ground haircashmere growth cycle further supported the results from tissue slices. Quantitative fluorescence analysis showed that KAP3–1, KRTAP 8–1, and KRTAP 24–1 genes had close positive correlation with the cashmere growth cycle, and their regulation was consistent with the growth cycle of cashmere.ConclusionThe growth cycle of cashmere cashmere could be divided into three distinct periods: a growth period (March–September), a regression period (September–December) and a resting period (December–March). March was considered to be the beginning of the cycle. KAP and KRTAP showed close positive correlation with the growth cycle of secondary hair follicle cashmere growth, and their regulation was consistent with the cashmere growth cycle. But hair follicle development-related genes are expressed earlier than cashmere growth, indicating that cycle regulation could alter the temporal growth of cashmere. This study laid a theoretical foundation for the study of the cashmere development cycle and provided evidence for key genes during transition through the cashmere cycle. Our study provides a theoretical basis for cashmere goat breeding.

LncRNA-000133 from secondary hair follicle of Cashmere goat: identification, regulatory network and its effects on inductive property of dermal papilla cells

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), a class of non-protein conding RNAs > 200 nt in length, were thought to play critical roles in regulating the expression of protein-coding genes. Here, we identified and characterized a novel lncRNA-000133 from the secondary hair follicle (SHF) of cashmere goat with its ceRNA network analysis, as well as, its potential effects on inductive property of dermal papilla cells were evaluated through overexpression analysis. Expression analysis indicated that lncRNA-000133 had a significantly higher expression at anagen than that at telogen in SHF of Cashmere goat, suggesting that lncRNA-000133 might be involved in the reconstruction of SHF with the formation and growth of cashmere fiber. Taken together with methylation analysis, we showed that 5’ regulatory region methylation of the lncRNA-000133 gene might be involved in its expression suppression in SHF of Cashmere goat. The ceRNA regulatory network showed that a rich and complex regulatory relationship between lncRNA-000133 and related miRNAs with their target genes. The overexpression of lncRNA-000133 led to a significant increasing in the relative expression of ET-1, SCF, ALP and LEF1 in dermal papilla cells suggesting that lncRNA-000133 appears to contribute the inductive property of dermal papilla cells.

Melatonin promotes Cashmere goat (Capra hircus) secondary hair follicle growth: a view from integrated analysis of long non-coding and coding RNAs

ABSTRACT The role of melatonin in promoting the yield of Cashmere goat wool has been demonstrated for decades though there remains a lack of knowledge regarding melatonin mediated hair follicle growth. Recent studies have demonstrated that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are widely transcribed in the genome and play ubiquitous roles in regulating biological processes. However, the role of lncRNAs in regulating melatonin mediated hair follicle growth remains unclear. In this study, we established an in vitro Cashmere goat secondary hair follicle culture system, and demonstrated that 500 ng/L melatonin exposure promoted hair follicle fiber growth. Based on long intergenic RNA sequencing, we demonstrated that melatonin promoted hair follicle elongation via regulating genes involved in focal adhesion and extracellular matrix receptor pathways and further cis predicting of lncRNAs targeted genes indicated that melatonin mediated lncRNAs mainly targeted vascular smooth muscle contraction and signaling pathways regulating the pluripotency of stem cells. We proposed that melatonin exposure not only perturbed key signals secreted from hair follicle stem cells to regulate hair follicle development, but also mediated lncRNAs mainly targeted to pathways involved in the microvascular system and extracellular matrix, which constitute the highly orchestrated microenvironment for hair follicle stem cell. Taken together, our findings here provide a profound view of lncRNAs in regulating Cashmere goat hair follicle circadian rhythms and broaden our knowledge on melatonin mediated hair follicle morphological changes.