Researchers at Rockefeller University have shown that retinoic acid, the biologically active form of vitamin A, is associated with the process of lineage plasticity, the ability of cells to switch and change their phenotypic identity. discovered. According to the study authors, this can occur when skin stem cells grow the epidermis to cover a wound, or when hair follicle stem cells transform into epidermal stem cells to repair damage. However, research shows that this function cannot be performed effectively until a definitive state is selected.
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“Our goal was to fully understand this condition and learn how to dial it up or down,” Rockefeller University’s Elaine Fuchs said in a press release. “We now have a path toward better understanding skin and hair diseases and preventing lineage plasticity from contributing to tumor growth.”
According to the study authors, the researchers assessed lineage plasticity in the context of the natural response to wounding and the unnatural features of cancer, as the outer layer of the skin is exposed to persistent abuse.
“This process is necessary to redirect stem cells to the parts of the tissue where they are most needed, but if left unchecked, it can leave those same tissues vulnerable to chronic reparative conditions and even some types of cancer. “This could happen,” Fuchs said in a press release.
Fuchs and her research team screened small molecules for their ability to resolve lineage plasticity in cultured mouse hair follicle stem cells to better understand how the body regulates the process. The study authors noted that the study found that retinoic acid, the active form of vitamin A, is important for stem cells to lose lineage plasticity and separate into hair cells and epidermal cells in vitro. . However, if retinoic acid levels are too high, lineage plasticity cannot be entered and wound preparation cannot occur.
“Through studies, first in vitro and then in vivo, we have discovered previously unknown effects on vitamin A, a molecule long known to have powerful but often mysterious effects on the skin and many other organs. “We discovered a function that had not been previously discovered,” Professor Fuchs said in a press release. release.
While previous studies have shown positive and negative roles for retinoids, this study shows a central role for vitamin A retinoids in regulating both hair follicles and epidermal stem cells. However, further research is needed to determine how retinoids affect other tissues.
“When you eat carrots, vitamin A is stored as retinol in your liver, where it is sent to various tissues,” Fuchs said in a press release. “Many tissues that receive retinol and convert it to retinoic acid require wound repair and take advantage of cell lineage plasticity, so it will be interesting to see how broadly our findings in skin will have an impact. Sho.”
