Project description:Study to optimize our protocol for isolating RNA from skin biopsies from (hairless) SKH mice using different-diameter biopsy punches. Some mice were also treated with UVB radiation to check its effect on RNA yield.
Project description:To investigate the effecs of commensal papillomavirus immunity on the homeostasis of highly mutated normal skin, spatial transcriptomics (Xenium, 10x Genomics, Pleasanton, CA) was performed on SKH-1 mouse back skin. The mice were treated with mouse papillomavirus (MmuPV1) or virus-like particles (VLP), followed by UV exposure for 25 weeks.
Project description:Study to optimize our protocol for isolating RNA from skin biopsies from (hairless) SKH mice using different-diameter biopsy punches. Some mice were also treated with UVB radiation to check its effect on RNA yield. 4 mice total: 2 were irradiated with 300J/m2 UVB and 2 were non-irradiated. Post-mortem skin biopsies with 1.5mm, 2.0mm, and 2.5mm diameter punches were taken from the dorsal region.
Project description:The immune checkpoint ligand PD-L1 has emerged as a molecular target for skin cancer therapy and might also hold promise for preventive intervention targeting solar ultraviolet light-induced skin damage. Topical application of the small molecule PD-L1 inhibitor BMS-202 significantly modulates UV-induced inflammation in SKH-1 mouse skin as substantiated by NanoString CounterTM transcriptomic analysis.
Project description:Skin constitutes the outer permeability barrier that protects the body from dehydration and a myriad of external assaults. Epidermal keratinocytes act as the first line of innate immune defense, and barrier defects underlie common inflammatory skin diseases. However, the molecular mechanisms that maintain barrier integrity when skin is under challenge to regulate the interplay between epidermal and immune cells are not fully understood. Here we report upregulated expression of transcriptional repressorencoding Ovol1 in epidermal cells of inflamed skin, and its functional importance in maintaining barrier integrity of physically or chemically challenged skin. Following stimulation with imiquimod, Ovol1-deficient mice exhibit significantly aggravated epidermal hyperplasia and psoriasis-like skin inflammation featuring persistent neutrophil accumulation. Using bulk and single-cell RNA-sequencing, we characterize molecular changes in epidermal, fibroblasts, and immune cells that reflect altered epidermal proliferation and differentiation and/or significantly enhanced inflammatory responses as consequences of Ovol1 deletion. We identify both proliferation/differentiation-regulating and neutrophil-attracting chemokine genes as candidate direct targets of Ovol1. Finally, we provide evidence for altered IL-1a signaling in the microenvironment of Ovol1- deficient inflamed skin that functionally contributes to neutrophil accumulation and epidermal hyperplasia. Collectively, our study demonstrates a protective role for an epidermally expressed, disease-linked transcription factor in coordinating robust barrier maintenance with suppression of skin inflammation.
Project description:Canonical WNT-signaling is essential for placode formation irrespective of appendage type. At sites of placode initiation, Although WNT-signaling occurs in both epithelium and mesenchyme, the site of most intense activity as revealed by the WNT reporter Axin2-LacZ was in a zone just below the epithelial-mesenchymal interface. In ventral foot-skin, this WNT activity peaked at E17.5, concomitant with sweat bud fate commitment, while in dorsal back-skin, it began at E14.5, concomitant with HF fate specification.
Project description:Overexpression of the oncogene HPV8 in keratinocytes of mice causes spontaneous papillomas to form in the skin. To study the expression profiles of skin cancer-associated fibroblasts, we performed RNA-sequencing of fibroblasts FACS-sorted from back skin tumors of HPV8 overexpressing mice.
Project description:The homeostasis of both cornea and hair follicles depends on a constant supply of progeny cells produced by populations of keratin (K) 14-expressing stem cells localized in specific niches. To investigate the potential role of Co-factors of LIM domains (Clims) in such tissues, we generated transgenic mice expressing a dominant-negative Clim molecule (DN-Clim) under the control of the K14 promoter. As expected, the K14 promoter directed high level expression of the transgene to the basal cells of cornea and epidermis, as well as the outer root sheath of hair follicles. In corneal epithelium, the transgene expression causes decreased expression of adhesion molecule BP180 and defective hemidesmosomes, leading to detachment of corneal epithelium from the underlying stroma, which in turn causes blisters, wounds and an inflammatory response. After a period of epithelial thinning, the corneal epithelium undergoes differentiation to an epidermis-like structure. The K14-DN-Clim mice also develop progressive hair loss due to dysfunctional hair follicles that fail to generate hair shafts. The number of hair follicle stem cells is decreased by at least 50% in K14-DN-Clim mice, indicating that Clims are required for hair follicle stem cell maintenance. We hypothesize that Clim2 is an essential co-factor for the LIM homeodomain factor Lhx2, which was previously shown to play a role in hair follicle stem cell maintenance. Together, these data indicate that Clim proteins play important roles in the homeostasis of corneal epithelium and hair follicles. Experiment Overall Design: We profiled mRNA expression in mouse back skin from 3 time points, representing the initial hair follicle morphogenesis (P6 and P14) and the first telogen (P23); hair growth is synchronized during these time points. For each time point, RNA was isolated and analyzed from 3 to 5 transgenic mice and same number of wild-type littermates.