Expression of parathyroid hormone (PTH)/PTH-related peptide receptor messenger ribonucleic acid in mice hair cycle

There is increasing evidence that parathyroid hormone (PTH) and PTH-related peptide (PTHrP) are involved in normal skin cell growth, influence the proliferation and differentiation of the epidermis and hair follicle. PTHrP and PTH/PTHrP receptor show prominent cutaneous expression, may exert important paracrine and/or autocrine functions. The expression of PTH/PTHrP receptor in different stages of hair cycle is unknown. Therefore, we examined the amount of PTH/PTHrP mRNA in C57BL/6 mice skin at different stages of hair cycle by relatively quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and investigated the localization of this receptor in mice skin by in situ hybridization. The expression of PTH/PTHrP receptor mRNA were higher in anagen, but significantly lower in catagen and telogen. Then, the PTH/PTHrP receptor mRNA was located in the inner root sheath (IRS) in anagen and catagen, but was not detected in telogen hair follicles, although it was expressed weakly in dermis. The variety of the PTH/PTHrP receptor mRNA expression during hair cycling suggest that PTH, PTHrP and their receptors might participate in the regulation of hair cycle in mice skin. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.