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Updated: Aug 13, 2026

Isolating Hair Follicle Stem Cells and Epidermal Keratinocytes from Dorsal Mouse Skin
Published on: April 29, 2016
Apoptosis in the hair follicle
Natalia V Botchkareva1, Gurpreet Ahluwalia, Douglas Shander
1Gillette Technology Center, Needham, Massachusetts 02492, USA. natasha_botchkareva@gillet.com
Abstract:
Apoptosis plays an important role in many physiological processes, ranging from morphogenetic events to adult tissue homeostasis, and defects in its regulation contribute to many disorders. Here we review molecular mechanisms of apoptosis in the hair follicle (HF), whose cyclical growth pattern is repeatedly interrupted by apoptosis-driven involution (catagen). We review the common mechanisms underlying apoptosis in the HF during catagen, as well as differences in the regulation of apoptosis between distinct HF cell populations. An overview is provided on the expression and function of molecules involved in the control of various phases of the apoptotic process during catagen.
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