The fibroblast growth factor (FGF) family has various biological functions, including cell growth, tissue regeneration, embryonic development, metabolism, and angiogenesis. In the case of hair growth, several members of the FGF family, such as FGF1 and FGF2, are involved in hair growth, while FGF5 has the opposite effect. In this study, the regulation of the hair growth cycle by FGF12 was investigated. To observe its effect, the expression of FGF12 was downregulated in mice and outer root sheath (ORS) by siRNA transfection, while FGF12 overexpression was carried out using FGF12 adenovirus. For the results, FGF12 was primarily expressed in ORS cells with a high expression during the anagen phase of hair follicles. Knockdown of FGF12 delayed telogen-to-anagen transition in mice and decreased the hair length in vibrissae hair follicles. It also inhibited the proliferation and migration of ORS cells. On the contrary, FGF12 overexpression increased the migration of ORS cells. FGF12-overexpressed ORS cells induced the telogen-to-anagen transition in the animal model. In addition, FGF12 overexpression regulated the expression of PDGF-CC, MDK, and HB-EGF, and treatment of these factors exhibited hair growth promotion. Altogether, FGF12 promoted hair growth by inducing the anagen phase of hair follicles, suggesting the potential for hair loss therapy.
Keywords: anagen induction; cell migration; fibroblast growth factor 12; hair growth; outer root sheath cell.