title: The Transient Role for Calcium and Vitamin D during the Developmental Hair Follicle Cycle.
abstract: The role for 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 and/or calcium in hair follicle cycling is not clear despite their impact on keratinocyte differentiation. We found that calbindin-D9k null (knockout) pups generated from calbindin-D9k knockout females fed a vitamin D-deficient, low-calcium (0.47%) diet develop transient alopecia. The pups appear phenotypically normal until 13 days of age, after which the hair progressively sheds in a caudocephalic direction, resulting in truncal alopecia totalis by 20-23 days, with spontaneous recovery by 28 days. Histological studies showed markedly dystrophic hair follicles, loss of hair shafts with increased apoptosis, and hyperplastic epidermis during this time. Ha1 expression is lost during catagen in all mice but recovers more slowly in the knockout pups on the vitamin D-deficient, low-calcium diet. Keratin 1 expression is reduced throughout days 19-28. The expressions of involucrin, loricrin, and cathepsin L is initially increased by day 19 but subsequently falls below those of controls by day 23, as does that of desmoglein 3. Feeding the mothers a high-vitamin D/high-calcium (2%)/lactose (20%) diet lessens the phenotype, and knockout pups fostered to mothers fed a normal diet do not develop alopecia. Our results show that in calbindin-D9k knockout pups, a maternal vitamin D-deficient/low-calcium diet leads to transient noncicatricial alopecia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Rutgers University-New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey, USA.
authors.forename: Leila J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Mady
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Rutgers University-New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey, USA.
authors.forename: Dare V
authors.initials: DV
authors.lastname: Ajibade
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Rutgers University-New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey, USA.
authors.forename: Connie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hsaio
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine and Dermatology, Endocrine Unit, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA.
authors.forename: Arnaud
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Teichert
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine and Dermatology, Endocrine Unit, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA.
authors.forename: Chak
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fong
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine and Dermatology, Endocrine Unit, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA.
authors.forename: Yongmei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Rutgers University-New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey, USA.
authors.forename: Sylvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Christakos
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine and Dermatology, Endocrine Unit, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA. Electronic address: daniel.bikle@ucsf.edu.
authors.forename: Daniel D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Bikle
mesh_terms: D000505:Alopecia / Q000235:genetics; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D002136:Calcium, Dietary / Q000378:metabolism*; D056668:Cathepsin L / Q000378:metabolism; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D051184:Desmoglein 3 / Q000378:metabolism; D004817:Epidermis / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D018859:Hair Follicle / Q000196:embryology* / Q000254:growth & development*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D053556:Keratin-1 / Q000378:metabolism; D015603:Keratinocytes / Q000166:cytology; D008297:Male; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D010641:Phenotype; D011498:Protein Precursors / Q000378:metabolism; D018167:Receptors, Calcitriol / Q000378:metabolism; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D002136:Calcium, Dietary; D051184:Desmoglein 3; D053556:Keratin-1; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D011498:Protein Precursors; D018167:Receptors, Calcitriol; C064554:loricrin; D014807:Vitamin D; C032253:involucrin; D056668:Cathepsin L