EGFR: Stopping Stathmin to Start the Cycle

Hair follicles arise prenatally and directly begin to produce hair fibres as they undergo morphogenesis. In mouse skin, about two weeks after birth these follicles undergo synchronised arrest of cellular proliferation and enter a brief apoptotic phase (catagen), causing the follicle to regress into a resting phase (telogen). This first catagen marks the end of morphogenesis and the beginning of the adult hair cycle which will continue through life, with the duration of active growth (anagen) phases representing the principal determinant of hair length. In the mouse, the first two hair cycles are entered synchronously across the entire body, making this an excellent system to study hair cycle control, while later cycles are locally synchronised in a travelling wave that moves through the skin. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.