The humoral hypercalcemia factor parathyroid hormone-related protein is a paracrine-signaling molecule that regulates the development of several organ systems, including the skin. In pathologic circumstances such as hypercalcemia and in development, parathyroid hormone-related protein signaling appears to be mediated by the type I parathyroid hormone/parathyroid hormone-related protein receptor. In order to clarify the role of the ligand and receptor pair in cutaneous biology, gene expression was monitored in a series of murine skin samples ranging from embryonic day 14 to 2 y with in situ hybridization and RNase protection. In all samples, high levels of parathyroid hormone-related protein transcripts were exclusively expressed in the developing and adult hair follicle but were not observed in the interfollicular epidermis. In the adult, parathyroid hormone-related protein mRNA expression was dynamically regulated as a function of the murine hair cycle in a way similar to other signaling molecules that regulate the anagen to catagen transition. PTH receptor transcripts were abundantly expressed in the developing dermis. In the adult skin, PTH receptor mRNA was markedly reduced, but again demonstrated hair-cycle-dependent expression. The dorsal skin of the keratin 14-parathyroid hormone-related protein mouse was used to evaluate the impact of overexpression of the peptide on the murine hair cycle. All types of hair were 30-40% shorter in adult keratin 14-parathyroid hormone-related protein mice as compared with wild-type littermates. This appeared to result from a premature entry into the catagen phase of the hair cycle. Finally, the relationship between parathyroid hormone-related protein signaling and other growth factors that regulate the hair cycle was examined by cross-breeding experiments employing keratin 14-parathyroid hormone-related protein mice and fibroblast growth factor-5-knockout mice. It appears that parathyroid hormone-related protein and fibroblast growth factor-5 regulate the anagen to catagen transition by independent pathways.

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