Deletion of the Sox21 gene drastically affects hair lipids

Abstract

Additional Supporting Information may be found in the online version of this article:Data S1. Methods. Table S1. Association between IL13, IL4, IL5 variants and different patient groups. The effects of Sox21 gene deletion on hair lipids have been studied. For the cuticle-specific bound lipid 18-methyl eicosanoic acid (18-MEA), which was found to predominantly exist as the free form in Sox21 À/À hair, total levels and distribution were unexpectedly unchanged. This indicates that while the biosynthesis of 18-MEA is unaffected, its covalent attachment to the cuticle surface is disrupted by loss of keratinassociated protein binding partners. Although the class compositions differed, the total ceramide (CER) levels were found to be comparable between Sox21 +/+ and Sox21 À/À hairs. Deletion of the gene was also found to increase cholesterol sulphate (CS) levels. The biosynthesis process might be associated with cuticle keratinocyte maturation, because both CS and CERs are known bioactives in keratinocyte differentiation.

Sox21 Regulates Anapc10 Expression and Determines the Fate of Ectodermal Organ

“…This repression is supported by the expression of Sox21 throughout the developing CNS and brain ( Cunningham et al., 2008 ). In addition, a major role of Sox21 has been demonstrated during hair shaft cuticle differentiation ( Kiso et al., 2009 ) and its deletion affects the hair lipid composition ( Kawaminami et al., 2012 ). However, the SoxB1 group proteins and their roles have received greater attention to date ( Donner et al., 2007 ; Driskell et al., 2009 ; Groves and Bronner-Fraser, 2000 ) than SoxB2 group involvement in developmental processes.…”

Metabolomic analysis of amino acids and lipids in human hair altered by dyeing, perming and bleaching

“…Therefore, it is plausible that these FFAs are easily depleted during chemical treatment of hair. 18-MEA, which is biosynthesized in hair matrix cells, is linked by a cysteine thioester bond within the cuticle at the surface of human hairs (s5), which makes it susceptible to the breakage of cross-links during chemical treatment as well as in diseases (9).…”