FREE SHIPPING over $40
OVER 9000 FIVE-STAR REVIEWS
5% OFF ALL SUBSCRIPTIONS
100% HAPPINESS GUARANTEE
Analyze Diet
0
Home / Equine Research Bank / Int J Mol Sci / The Enrichment of Specific Hair Follicle-Associated Cell Pop...
International journal of molecular sciences2022; 24(1); 561; doi: 10.3390/ijms24010561

The Enrichment of Specific Hair Follicle-Associated Cell Populations in Plucked Hairs Offers an Opportunity to Study Gene Expression Underlying Hair Traits.

Abstract: Gene expression differences can assist in characterizing important underlying genetic mechanisms between different phenotypic traits. However, when population-dense tissues are studied, the signals from scarce populations are diluted. Therefore, appropriately choosing a sample collection method that enriches a particular type of effector cells might yield more specific results. To address this issue, we performed a polyA-selected RNA-seq experiment of domestic horse () plucked-hair samples and skin biopsies. Then, we layered the horse gene abundance results against cell type-specific marker genes generated from a scRNA-seq supported with spatial mapping of laboratory mouse () skin to identify the captured populations. The hair-plucking and skin-biopsy sample-collection methods yielded comparable quality and quantity of RNA-seq results. Keratin-related genes, such as KRT84 and KRT75, were among the genes that showed higher abundance in plucked hairs, while genes involved in cellular processes and enzymatic activities, such as MGST1, had higher abundance in skin biopsies. We found an enrichment of hair-follicle keratinocytes in plucked hairs, but detected an enrichment of other populations, including epidermis keratinocytes, in skin biopsies. In mammalian models, biopsies are often the method of choice for a plethora of gene expression studies and to our knowledge, this is a novel study that compares the cell-type enrichment between the non-invasive hair-plucking and the invasive skin-biopsy sample-collection methods. Here, we show that the non-invasive and ethically uncontroversial plucked-hair method is recommended depending on the research question. In conclusion, our study will allow downstream -omics approaches to better understand integumentary conditions in both health and disease in horses as well as other mammals.
Get Full Text
Publication Date: 2022-12-29 PubMed ID: 36614000PubMed Central: PMC9820680DOI: 10.3390/ijms24010561Google Scholar: Lookup
The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
LinkedInCopy
  • Journal Article

Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

The research compares two methods of sample collection – hair plucking and skin biopsies, across domestic horses and lab mice – and analyses their effectiveness in studying gene expression related to hair traits.

Objective of the Research

  • The goal of this study was to compare plucked hair samples versus skin biopsies for studying gene expression in relation to hair traits. The approach taken includes leveraging a polyA-selected RNA-seq experiment on domestic horse hair samples and skin biopsies, and using these data to identify the capture of specific cell populations.

Methods and Techniques

  • Gene abundance results obtained from the RNA-seq experiment with horse samples were compared with cell-type-specific marker genes identified through single cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) and spatial mapping of lab mouse skin.
  • Both hair-plucking and skin-biopsy sample collection methods were used, and the quality and quantity of RNA-seq results from both methods were compared.

Key Findings

  • Keratin-related genes (KRT84 and KRT75) showed higher abundance in plucked horse hair samples, while genes involved in cellular processes and enzymatic activities (MGST1) had higher abundance in skin biopsies.
  • There was a marked enrichment of hair-follicle keratinocytes in plucked hairs, but an enrichment of other cell types, such as epidermis keratinocytes, was found in skin biopsies.
  • The researchers established that both methods, hair-plucking (a non-invasive method) and skin biopsy (an invasive method), yielded comparable results, depending on the research question at hand.

Implications and Conclusions

  • This research is a novel study that compares the enrichment of certain cell types between non-invasive and invasive sample-collection methods.
  • The research team concluded that the non-invasive and ethically acceptable hair plucking method should be recommended depending on the focus of the research question. This finding could change the way skin and hair diseases are studied in not only horses but in other mammals as well.
  • The conclusions derived from this study will enhance future omics approaches aimed at better understanding integumentary conditions in both health and disease in mammals.

Cite This Article

APA
Naboulsi R, Cieślak J, Headon D, Jouni A, Negro JJ, Andersson G, Lindgren G. (2022). The Enrichment of Specific Hair Follicle-Associated Cell Populations in Plucked Hairs Offers an Opportunity to Study Gene Expression Underlying Hair Traits. Int J Mol Sci, 24(1), 561. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24010561

Publication

International journal of molecular sciences
ISSN: 1422-0067
NlmUniqueID: 101092791
Country: Switzerland
Language: English
Volume: 24
Issue: 1
PII: 561

Researcher Affiliations

Naboulsi, Rakan
  • Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 750 07 Uppsala, Sweden.
Cieślak, Jakub
  • Department of Genetics and Animal Breeding, Poznan University of Life Sciences, 60-637 Poznań, Poland.
Headon, Denis
  • The Roslin Institute and Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH25 9RG, UK.
Jouni, Ahmad
  • Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 750 07 Uppsala, Sweden.
Negro, Juan J
  • Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Doñana Biological Station, CSIC, 41092 Seville, Spain.
Andersson, Göran
  • Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 750 07 Uppsala, Sweden.
Lindgren, Gabriella
  • Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 750 07 Uppsala, Sweden.
  • Center for Animal Breeding and Genetics, Department of Biosystems, KU Leuven, 3001 Leuven, Belgium.

MeSH Terms

  • Animals
  • Mice
  • Epidermis
  • Gene Expression
  • Hair
  • Hair Follicle / metabolism
  • Horses
  • Keratinocytes / metabolism

Grant Funding

  • 2016-04361 and 2020-03375 / The Swedish Research Council (VR)

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

References

This article includes 24 references
  1. Rognoni E, Watt FM. Skin Cell Heterogeneity in Development, Wound Healing, and Cancer.. Trends Cell Biol 2018 Sep;28(9):709-722.
    doi: 10.1016/j.tcb.2018.05.002pmc: PMC6098245pubmed: 29807713google scholar: lookup
  2. Lindgren G, Naboulsi R, Frey R, Solé M. Genetics of Skin Disease in Horses.. Vet Clin North Am Equine Pract 2020 Aug;36(2):323-339.
    doi: 10.1016/j.cveq.2020.03.010pubmed: 32534850google scholar: lookup
  3. Zhang J, Wallace SJ, Shiu MY, Smith I, Rhind SG, Langlois VS. Human hair follicle transcriptome profiling: a minimally invasive tool to assess molecular adaptations upon low-volume, high-intensity interval training.. Physiol Rep 2017 Dec;5(23).
    doi: 10.14814/phy2.13534pmc: PMC5727284pubmed: 29212859google scholar: lookup
  4. Fuchs E. Scratching the surface of skin development.. Nature 2007 Feb 22;445(7130):834-42.
    doi: 10.1038/nature05659pmc: PMC2405926pubmed: 17314969google scholar: lookup
  5. Joost S, Annusver K, Jacob T, Sun X, Dalessandri T, Sivan U, Sequeira I, Sandberg R, Kasper M. The Molecular Anatomy of Mouse Skin during Hair Growth and Rest.. Cell Stem Cell 2020 Mar 5;26(3):441-457.e7.
    doi: 10.1016/j.stem.2020.01.012pubmed: 32109378google scholar: lookup
  6. Claussnitzer M, Cho JH, Collins R, Cox NJ, Dermitzakis ET, Hurles ME, Kathiresan S, Kenny EE, Lindgren CM, MacArthur DG, North KN, Plon SE, Rehm HL, Risch N, Rotimi CN, Shendure J, Soranzo N, McCarthy MI. A brief history of human disease genetics.. Nature 2020 Jan;577(7789):179-189.
    doi: 10.1038/s41586-019-1879-7pmc: PMC7405896pubmed: 31915397google scholar: lookup
  7. Bailey E, Petersen JL, Kalbfleisch TS. Genetics of Thoroughbred Racehorse Performance.. Annu Rev Anim Biosci 2022 Feb 15;10:131-150.
    doi: 10.1146/annurev-animal-020420-035235pubmed: 34780248google scholar: lookup
  8. McCoy AM, Beeson SK, Rubin CJ, Andersson L, Caputo P, Lykkjen S, Moore A, Piercy RJ, Mickelson JR, McCue ME. Identification and validation of genetic variants predictive of gait in standardbred horses.. PLoS Genet 2019 May;15(5):e1008146.
    doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1008146pmc: PMC6555539pubmed: 31136578google scholar: lookup
  9. Horváth M.B., Martínez-Cruz B., Negro J.J., Kalmár L., Godoy J.A.. An overlooked DNA source for non-invasive genetic analysis in birds.. J. Avian Biol. 2005;36:84–88.
    doi: 10.1111/j.0908-8857.2005.03370.xgoogle scholar: lookup
  10. Lorange JB. WorldFengur - the studbook of origin for the Icelandic horse.. Acta Vet Scand 2011;53 Suppl 1(Suppl 1):S5.
    doi: 10.1186/1751-0147-53-S1-S5pmc: PMC3194124pubmed: 21999469google scholar: lookup
  11. Kalbfleisch TS, Rice ES, DePriest MS Jr, Walenz BP, Hestand MS, Vermeesch JR, O Connell BL, Fiddes IT, Vershinina AO, Saremi NF, Petersen JL, Finno CJ, Bellone RR, McCue ME, Brooks SA, Bailey E, Orlando L, Green RE, Miller DC, Antczak DF, MacLeod JN. Improved reference genome for the domestic horse increases assembly contiguity and composition.. Commun Biol 2018;1:197.
    doi: 10.1038/s42003-018-0199-zpmc: PMC6240028pubmed: 30456315google scholar: lookup
  12. Alonso L, Fuchs E. The hair cycle.. J Cell Sci 2006 Feb 1;119(Pt 3):391-3.
    doi: 10.1242/jcs.02793pubmed: 16443746google scholar: lookup
  13. Schmidt-Ullrich R, Paus R. Molecular principles of hair follicle induction and morphogenesis.. Bioessays 2005 Mar;27(3):247-61.
    doi: 10.1002/bies.20184pubmed: 15714560google scholar: lookup
  14. Müller-Röver S, Handjiski B, van der Veen C, Eichmüller S, Foitzik K, McKay IA, Stenn KS, Paus R. A comprehensive guide for the accurate classification of murine hair follicles in distinct hair cycle stages.. J Invest Dermatol 2001 Jul;117(1):3-15.
    doi: 10.1046/j.0022-202x.2001.01377.xpubmed: 11442744google scholar: lookup
  15. VAN SCOTT EJ, REINERTSON RP, STEINMULLER R. The growing hair roots of the human scalp and morphologic changes therein following amethopterin therapy.. J Invest Dermatol 1957 Sep;29(3):197-204.
    doi: 10.1038/jid.1957.87pubmed: 13481431google scholar: lookup
  16. Ludwig E. Removal of intact hair papilla and connective tissue sheath by plucking anagen hairs.. J Invest Dermatol 1967 Jun;48(6):595-7.
    doi: 10.1038/jid.1967.92pubmed: 6028011google scholar: lookup
  17. Paus R, Cotsarelis G. The biology of hair follicles.. N Engl J Med 1999 Aug 12;341(7):491-7.
    doi: 10.1056/NEJM199908123410706pubmed: 10441606google scholar: lookup
  18. Scott D.W.. Skin of the neck, mane and tail of the curly horse.. Equine Vet. Educ. 2004;16:201–206.
    doi: 10.1111/j.2042-3292.2004.tb00299.xgoogle scholar: lookup
  19. Rice RH, Bradshaw KM, Durbin-Johnson BP, Rocke DM, Eigenheer RA, Phinney BS, Sundberg JP. Differentiating inbred mouse strains from each other and those with single gene mutations using hair proteomics.. PLoS One 2012;7(12):e51956.
    doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0051956pmc: PMC3522583pubmed: 23251662google scholar: lookup
  20. Jones KF, Carlson TL, Eckenrode BA, Donfack J. Assessing protein sequencing in human single hair shafts of decreasing lengths.. Forensic Sci Int Genet 2020 Jan;44:102145.
    doi: 10.1016/j.fsigen.2019.102145pubmed: 31590061google scholar: lookup
  21. Galván I, Garrido-Fernández J, Ríos J, Pérez-Gálvez A, Rodríguez-Herrera B, Negro JJ. Tropical bat as mammalian model for skin carotenoid metabolism.. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2016 Sep 27;113(39):10932-7.
    doi: 10.1073/pnas.1609724113pmc: PMC5047184pubmed: 27621447google scholar: lookup
  22. Liao Y, Smyth GK, Shi W. The R package Rsubread is easier, faster, cheaper and better for alignment and quantification of RNA sequencing reads.. Nucleic Acids Res 2019 May 7;47(8):e47.
    doi: 10.1093/nar/gkz114pmc: PMC6486549pubmed: 30783653google scholar: lookup
  23. Robinson MD, McCarthy DJ, Smyth GK. edgeR: a Bioconductor package for differential expression analysis of digital gene expression data.. Bioinformatics 2010 Jan 1;26(1):139-40.
    doi: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btp616pmc: PMC2796818pubmed: 19910308google scholar: lookup
  24. Robinson MD, Oshlack A. A scaling normalization method for differential expression analysis of RNA-seq data.. Genome Biol 2010;11(3):R25.
    doi: 10.1186/gb-2010-11-3-r25pmc: PMC2864565pubmed: 20196867google scholar: lookup

Citations

This article has been cited 3 times.
  1. He X, Qin Z, Teng R, Tian M, Wang W, Feng Y, Chen H, He H, Zhang H, Liu D, Jiang X. Characterization of Growth Secondary Hair in Min Pig Activated by Follicle Stem Cell Stimulated by Wnt and BMP Signaling Pathway. Animals (Basel) 2023 Apr 3;13(7).
    doi: 10.3390/ani13071239pubmed: 37048495google scholar: lookup
  2. Harkin EE, Browne JA, Murphy BA. Evaluation of short-term hair follicle storage conditions for maintenance of RNA integrity. PLoS One 2024;19(5):e0294089.
    doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0294089pubmed: 38820307google scholar: lookup
  3. Yu X, Li S, Zhou H, Zhao F, Hu J, Wang J, Liu X, Li M, Zhao Z, Hao Z, Shi B, Hickford JGH. Spatiotemporal Expression and Haplotypes Identification of KRT84 Gene and Their Association with Wool Traits in Gansu Alpine Fine-Wool Sheep. Genes (Basel) 2024 Feb 16;15(2).
    doi: 10.3390/genes15020248pubmed: 38397237google scholar: lookup
Subscribe to our newsletter
Join 99,357 horse owners like you who receive our email updates on horse health and nutrition.