The hair follicle (HF) is an attractive miniorgan for studying adult stem cell biology and behavior because of its unique location: the HF bulge area.

Using transgenic mouse model, studies from USC Stem Cell faculty member Krzysztof Kobielak provide new insight into the molecular mechanisms of HF stem cell maintenance and activation by intra-cell antagonistic competition between BMP and Wnt signaling pathways.

The study is published in PNAS.