Regeneration of skin and hair follicles after wounding - a process known as wound-induced hair neogenesis (WIHN) - is a rare example of adult organogenesis in mammals. As such, WIHN provides a unique model system for deciphering mechanisms underlying mammalian regeneration. Here, we show that dsRNA, which is released from damaged skin, activates Toll-Like Receptor 3 (TLR3) and its downstream effectors IL6 and STAT3 to promote hair follicle regeneration. Conversely, TLR3-deficient animals fail to initiate WIHN. TLR3 activation promotes expression of hair follicle stem cell markers and induces elements of the core hair morphogenetic program, including EDAR and the Wnt and Shh pathways. Our results therefore show that dsRNA and TLR3 link the earliest events of mammalian skin wounding to regeneration and suggest potential therapeutic approaches for promoting hair neogenesis.

Prostaglandins (PGs) are key inflammatory mediators involved in wound healing and regulating hair growth; however, their role in skin regeneration after injury is unknown. Using wound-induced hair follicle neogenesis (WIHN) as a marker of skin regeneration, we hypothesized that PGD2 decreases follicle neogenesis. PGE2 and PGD2 were elevated early and late respectively during wound healing. The levels of WIHN, lipocalin-type prostaglandin D2 synthase (Ptgds) and its product PGD2 each varied significantly among background strains of mice after wounding and all correlated such that the highest Ptgds and PGD2 levels were associated with the lowest amount of regeneration. Additionally, an alternatively spliced transcript variant of Ptgds missing exon 3 correlated with high regeneration in mice. Exogenous application of PGD2 decreased WIHN in wild type mice and PGD2 receptor Gpr44 null mice showed increased WIHN compared to strain-matched control mice. Furthermore, Gpr44 null mice were resistant to PGD2-induced inhibition of follicle neogenesis. In all, these findings demonstrate that PGD2 inhibits hair follicle regeneration through the Gpr44 receptor and imply that inhibition of PGD2 production or Gpr44 signaling will promote skin regeneration.

No abstract