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Updated: Jun 17, 2026

Rapid Genetic Analysis of Epithelial-Mesenchymal Signaling During Hair Regeneration
Published on: February 28, 2013
Over-expression of thymosin beta 4 promotes abnormal tooth development and stimulation of hair growth
Hee-Jae Cha1, Deborah Philp, Soo-Hyun Lee
1Department of Parasitology and Genetics, College of Medicine, Kosin University, Busan, South Korea. hcha@kosin.ac.kr
Abstract:
Thymosin beta 4 has multi-functional roles in cell physiology. It accelerates wound healing, hair growth and angiogenesis, and increases laminin-5 expression in corneal epithelium. Furthermore, thymosin beta 4 stimulates tumor growth and metastasis by induction of cell migration and vascular endothelial growth factor-mediated angiogenesis. Using a construct on the skin-specific keratin-5 promoter, we have developed thymosin beta 4 over-expressing transgenic mice to further study its functional roles. Thymosin beta 4 in adult skin and in embryonic stages of the transgenic mouse was analyzed by both Western blot and immunohistochemistry. The over-expression of thymosin beta 4 was observed especially around hair follicles and in the teeth in the transgenic mice. We examined the phenotype of the thymosin beta 4 over-expressing mice. Hair growth was accelerated. In addition, the transgenic mice had abnormally-shaped white teeth and dull incisors. We found that the expression of laminin-5 was up-regulated in the skin of the transgenic mice. We conclude that thymosin beta 4 has an important physiological role in hair growth and in tooth development.
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