%0 Journal Article
%T Hair follicles modulate skin barrier function.
%A Ford NC
%A Benedeck RE
%A Mattoon MT
%A Peterson JK
%A Mesler AL
%A Veniaminova NA
%A Gardon DJ
%A Tsai SY
%A Uchida Y
%A Wong SY
%J Cell Rep
%V 43
%N 7
%D 2024 Jun 26
%M 38941190
暂无%R 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.114347
%X Our skin provides a protective barrier that shields us from our environment. Barrier function is typically associated with the interfollicular epidermis; however, whether hair follicles influence this process remains unclear. Here, we utilize a potent genetic tool to probe barrier function by conditionally ablating a quintessential epidermal barrier gene, Abca12, which is mutated in the most severe skin barrier disease, harlequin ichthyosis. With this tool, we deduced 4 ways by which hair follicles modulate skin barrier function. First, the upper hair follicle (uHF) forms a functioning barrier. Second, barrier disruption in the uHF elicits non-cell-autonomous responses in the epidermis. Third, deleting Abca12 in the uHF impairs desquamation and blocks sebum release. Finally, barrier perturbation causes uHF cells to move into the epidermis. Neutralizing IL-17a, whose expression is enriched in the uHF, partially alleviated some disease phenotypes. Altogether, our findings implicate hair follicles as multi-faceted regulators of skin barrier function.