Wnt signaling through the beta-catenin pathway is sufficient to maintain, but not restore, anagen-phase characteristics of dermal papilla cells.

Dermal papilla cells of the hair follicle can be maintained in an active, hair-inducing state in vitro when cocultured with cells secreting Wnt3a. By inducing cultured dermal papilla cells to secrete Wnt themselves, we demonstrate that this activity is a direct effect of Wnt signaling to dermal papilla cells. We further demonstrate that the effects of Wnt3a are exerted through activation of the beta-catenin signal transduction pathway and do not require alternative Wnt transduction cascades. Once dermal papilla cells have lost hair-inducing properties in vitro, neither treatment with Wnt nor expression of a truncated and activating form of beta-catenin is sufficient to restore these properties to the cultured cells.