Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
12
pubmed:dateCreated
2008-11-27
pubmed:abstractText
Hair morphology differs dramatically between human populations: people of East Asian ancestry typically have a coarse hair texture, with individual fibers being straight, of large diameter, and cylindrical when compared to hair of European or African origin. Ectodysplasin-A receptor (EDAR) is a cell surface receptor of the tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR) family involved in the development of hair follicles, teeth, and sweat glands. Analyses of genome-wide polymorphism data from multiple human populations suggest that EDAR experienced strong positive selection in East Asians. It is likely that a nonsynonymous SNP in EDAR, rs3827760, was the direct target of selection as the derived p.Val370Ala variant is seen at high frequencies in populations of East Asian and Native American origin but is essentially absent from European and African populations. Here we demonstrate that the derived EDAR370A common in East Asia has a more potent signaling output than the ancestral EDAR370 V in vitro. We show that elevation of Edar activity in transgenic mice converts their hair phenotype to the typical East Asian morphology. The coat texture becomes coarse, with straightening and thickening of individual hairs and conversion of fiber cross-sectional profile to a circular form. These thick hair fibers are produced by enlarged hair follicles, which in turn develop from enlarged embryonic organ primordia. This work shows that the multiple differences in hair form between East Asian and other human populations can be explained by the simplest of genetic alterations.
pubmed:grant
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Dec
pubmed:issn
1098-1004
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Electronic
pubmed:volume
29
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
1405-11
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2008
pubmed:articleTitle
Enhanced ectodysplasin-A receptor (EDAR) signaling alters multiple fiber characteristics to produce the East Asian hair form.
pubmed:affiliation
Faculty of Life Sciences (FLS), University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't