title: Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway activates melanocyte stem cells in vitro and in vivo.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Melanocyte stem cells (McSCs) are the origin of melanocytes that are periodically refreshed in skin and hair follicle. Previously, we reported that Wnt3a could promote melanogenesis, but the mechanism of McSCs activation remains unclear.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We aimed to illustrate the roles of Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway during McSC activation.
  
  
  METHODS
  Adenovirus-mediated overexpression of Wnt3a and Wnt10b were used. In vitro experiments were performed on the immortalized melanocyte progenitor cell line iMC23, wheres in vivo experiments were performed in Dct-LacZ mice. Immunofluorescence and western blot were used to determine the protein expression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Wnt3a promotes the differentiation and melanogenesis of iMC23, by activating Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Wnt3a induces hair follicle regeneration and McSC activation. Detailed analysis indicats that Wnt3a activated Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, thus promoting the differentiation of McSCs during this process. Wnt10b, another canonical Wnt signaling ligand, induces hair follicle regeneration and McSC activation as well.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway activates McSCs both in vitro and in vivo.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400038, China.
authors.forename: Haiying
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400038, China.
authors.forename: Yizhan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xing
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400038, China.
authors.forename: Yingxin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400038, China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400038, China.
authors.forename: Fang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400038, China.
authors.forename: Tian
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Chongqing Stem Cell Therapy Engineering Technical Center, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400014, China. Electronic address: 78210114@163.com.
authors.forename: Ke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400038, China. Electronic address: liyuhongtmmu@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Yuhong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002460:Cell Line; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D018859:Hair Follicle / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D008544:Melanocytes / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D012038:Regeneration; D012867:Skin / Q000166:cytology; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D051153:Wnt Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D060449:Wnt Signaling Pathway; D060509:Wnt3A Protein / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D051153:Wnt Proteins; C102068:Wnt10b protein, mouse; D060509:Wnt3A Protein; C555511:Wnt3a protein, mouse
keywords: Melanocyte stem cells; Melanogenesis; Wnt signaling pathway; Wnt10b; Wnt3a