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Wnt/β-catenin signaling is a central regulator of adult stem cells. Variable sensitivity of Wnt reporter transgenes, β-catenin's dual roles in adhesion and signaling, and hair follicle degradation and inflammation resulting from broad deletion of epithelial β-catenin have precluded clear understanding of Wnt/β-catenin's functions in adult skin stem cells. By inducibly deleting β-catenin globally in skin epithelia, only in hair follicle stem cells, or only in interfollicular epidermis and comparing the phenotypes with those caused by ectopic expression of the Wnt/β-catenin inhibitor Dkk1, we show that this pathway is necessary for hair follicle stem cell proliferation. However, β-catenin is not required within hair follicle stem cells for their maintenance, and follicles resume proliferating after ectopic Dkk1 has been removed, indicating persistence of functional progenitors. We further unexpectedly discovered a broader role for Wnt/β-catenin signaling in contributing to progenitor cell proliferation in nonhairy epithelia and interfollicular epidermis under homeostatic, but not inflammatory, conditions.

The authors discuss the target article by L. Kolbe and I. de Melo-Martin concerning the shortcominngs of major instruments of moral distress, including the Moral Distress Scale, the Moral Distress Scale-Revised, and the Measure of Moral Distress-Healthcare Professionals. Topics include basic phases that must be abided by to create a rigorous scale, main focus of the evaluations of these instruments, and basis of the early and accurate detection of moral distress.

Abstract Background The proliferation and final density of Sertoli cells in the testis are regulated by hormones and local factors. Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), a distantly related member of the transforming growth factor-β superfamily, and its receptor subunits GDNF family receptor alpha 1 (GFRα1), RET tyrosine kinase, and neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) have been reported to be expressed in the testis and involved in the regulation of proliferation of immature Sertoli cells (ISCs). However, the expression patterns of these receptor subunits and the downstream signaling pathways have not been addressed in ISCs. Results In the present study, we have reported that the proliferation of cultured ISCs was significantly enhanced by GDNF. The receptor subunits GFRα1 and NCAM but not RET were expressed in ISCs, and the stimulatory effect of GDNF on the proliferation of ISCs was significantly reduced by anti-NCAM antibody blocking or siRNA that specifically targets NCAM mRNA. Additionally, the ERK1/2 inhibitor, PD98059, completely abolished the mitogenic effect of GDNF on ISCs. Conclusions GDNF stimulates the proliferation of ISCs via its receptor subunit NCAM and the consequent activation of the ERK1/2 signaling pathway.

The article discusses the cases of two major events that have occurred in the human genome editing history in China which are intended to provide a complementary and supportive viewpoint to the 2022 article by R. A. Ankeny, M. J. Munsie and J. Leach which focuses on the creation of iBlastoids and defends the need for reflexive, anticipatory and deliberative approaches in research. One is the research led by Junjiu Huang and the other one is the research by He Jiankui.