LncRNA PlncRNA‑1 regulates proliferation and differentiation of hair follicle stem cells through TGF‑β1‑mediated Wnt/β‑catenin signal pathway.

The present study demonstrated that hair follicle stem cells (HFSc) have multidirectional differentiation potential and participate in skin wound healing processes. Long non‑coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are defined as non‑protein coding transcripts longer than 200 nucleotides, which are important in the proliferation and differentiation of cells. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the role of PlncRNA‑1 in the proliferation and differentiation of HFSc. Results revealed that PlncRNA‑1, transforming growth factor (TGF)‑β1, Wnt and β‑catenin expression levels were significantly downregulated in HFSc. PlncRNA‑1 transfection promoted proliferation and differentiation of HFSc. TGF‑β1, Wnt and β‑catenin expression levels were upregulated in HFSc following transfection of PlncRNA‑1. Results demonstrated that TGF‑β1 inhibitor LY2109761 blocked proliferation and differentiation of HFSc promoted by PlncRNA‑1 transfection. In addition, TGF‑β1 inhibitor LY2109761 led to decreased Wnt and β‑catenin expression levels in HFSc. Furthermore, PlncRNA‑1 transfection stimulated the cell cycle of HFSc, whereas TGF‑β1 inhibitor LY2109761 inhibited the cell cycle of HFSc and decreased the acceleration of the cell cycle induced by PlncRNA‑1 transfection. In conclusion, these findings suggest that PlncRNA‑1 may promote proliferation and differentiation of HFSc through upregulation of TGF‑β1‑mediated Wnt/β‑catenin signaling pathway.