Figure 5. Ablation of Wls in CD133+ DP cells during mid-anagen induces premature hair regression.

(A) Time scheme for TAM administration during mid-anagen and sample collection. Briefly, CD133-CreER^T2; Wls^fl/fl mice and control littermates were administered with TAM by IP injection at P30 for 5 or 7 days based on the date of skin biopsy collection. (B) Representative pictures of skin color of CD133-CreER^T2; Wls^fl/fl mouse and control littermate at P40 after shaving (n = 3). (C and D) H&E-stained skin biopsies of CD133-CreER^T2; Wls^fl/fl mouse (D) and control littermate (C) at P40 (n = 3). Scale bar: 100 µm. (E) Comparison of hair follicle numbers that were present at different hair cycle stages between CD133-CreER^T2; Wls^fl/fl mice and control mice at P40 (n = 3). A minimum of three skin biopsies from three pairs of mutant mice and control littermates were manually counted. Two-tailed paired Student’s t-test was employed.