Knockdown of miR-361-5p Promotes Activation of SHF-Stem Cells Through FOXM1 Mediated Wnt/β-Catenin Pathway in Cashmere Goats

The study investigates the role of miR-361-5p in the activation of secondary hair follicle (SHF)-stem cells in cashmere goats, which is crucial for SHF regeneration and cashmere fiber morphogenesis. It was found that miR-361-5p is downregulated during the anagen phase and after SHF-stem cell activation. miR-361-5p negatively regulates SHF-stem cell activation by binding to and downregulating the FOXM1 gene. Overexpression and knockdown analyses revealed that FOXM1 enhances the Wnt/β-catenin pathway, which is crucial for SHF-stem cell activation. The knockdown of miR-361-5p promotes this pathway by upregulating FOXM1, demonstrating that miR-361-5p negatively influences SHF-stem cell activation through the FOXM1-mediated Wnt/β-catenin pathway.