Targeted Deletion of CRIF1 in Mouse Skin Epidermis Impairs Skin Homeostasis

The study investigated the role of the mitochondrial protein CRIF1 in skin homeostasis and hair growth by creating epidermis-specific Crif1 conditional knockout (cKO) mice. The deletion of Crif1 led to impaired mitochondrial function, resulting in the death of the mice within a week. This impairment caused significant inhibition of keratinocyte proliferation and differentiation, as well as disrupted hair follicle morphogenesis due to down-regulation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling. The findings demonstrated that mitochondrial function in keratinocytes was crucial for maintaining epidermal homeostasis and proper hair follicle development.