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The serine protease Corin is a novel modifier of the Agouti pathway

David Enshell-Seijffers1, Catherine Lindon, Bruce A Morgan

  • 1Cutaneous Biology Research Center, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, 149 13th Street, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA.

Development (Cambridge, England)
|December 7, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Corin, a gene in the dermal papilla, is crucial for determining coat color by suppressing the agouti pathway. Its mutation in mice leads to a

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Biology
  • Genetics
  • Dermatology

Background:

  • Hair follicle development involves complex epithelial-mesenchymal interactions.
  • Understanding the dermal papilla's mesenchymal contribution is limited by a lack of genetic tools.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify genes specifically expressed in the dermal papilla.
  • To investigate the role of the identified gene, Corin, in hair follicle development and function.

Main Methods:

  • Gene expression screening to identify dermal papilla-specific genes.
  • Gene mutation analysis in mice to study phenotypic consequences.
  • Analysis of gene expression pathways, including the agouti pathway.

Main Results:

  • Corin was identified as a gene specifically expressed in the dermal papilla of hair follicles.
  • Corin is not essential for hair follicle morphogenesis.
  • Corin acts downstream of agouti gene expression, suppressing the agouti pathway and influencing coat color.

Conclusions:

  • Corin is a critical regulator of coat color specification in hair follicles.
  • The transmembrane protease Corin plays a key role in the dermal papilla's function.
  • This study provides new tools and insights into hair follicle development and pigmentation.

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