Multiple cell types guided by neurocytes orchestrate horn bud initiation in dairy goats

作者：Hegang Li, Mengmeng Du, Xiaokun Lin, Xinxin Cao, Lu Leng, F M Perez Campo, Xu D, Lele Hou, Xiaoxiao Gao, Jianyu Zhou, Ming Cheng, Jianguang Wang, Qinan Zhao, Yin Chen, Feng Yang, Jinshan Zhao · 发表于：Genetics Selection Evolution · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1186/s12711-025-00981-3 · 被引用次数：4 · 研究领域：Hair Growth and Disorders、Skin and Cellular Biology Research、Wnt/β-catenin signaling in development and cancer

BACKGROUND: Horn development is a key ruminant trait involving multi-cell type coordination via molecular pathways. This study used scRNA-seq to analyze cellular heterogeneity and fate trajectories during early horn bud niche formation, revealing key gene expression profiles. Combining with hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining and immunohistochemical analysis, we further verified the asynchronous developmental pathways of key cells in the skin tissue of fetal goat horn bud at induction (embryonic day (E) 50; E50), organogenesis (E60), and cytodifferentiation (E70) stages, and demonstrated the signal transmission routes for the development of early horn buds. RESULTS: We revealed temporal and spatial differences of the main signal transmission of horn bud development combining with existing literatures. We speculated that multiple cell types under the guidance of nerve cells collaborated on horn bud initiation in dairy goats. In detail, neural cells receive initial horn bud signals, stimulating hair follicle cell degeneration and transmitting to dermal cells, which evolve through intermediates, amplify signals to epithelial cells, and differentiate into mesenchymal cells. Nerve cell branches also trigger neural crest cell production/migration, working with chondrocytes to promote keratinocyte differentiation for horn bud formation. In addition, we further identified the early horn bud developmental specific events, including the screening of biological functions, signaling pathways...