Intramuscular fat (IMF) is the most important evaluating indicator of chicken meat quality, the content of which is positively correlated with tenderness, flavor, and succulence of the meat. Chicken IMF deposition process is regulated by many factors, including genetic, nutrition, and environment. Although large number of omics’ studies focused on the IMF deposition process, the molecular mechanism of chicken IMF deposition is still poorly understood. In order to study the role of miRNAs in chicken intramuscular adipogenesis, the intramuscular adipocyte differentiation model (IMF-preadipocytes and IMF-adipocytes) was established and subject to miRNA-Seq. A total of 117 differentially expressed miRNAs between two groups were obtained. Target genes prediction and functional enrichment analysis revealed that eight pathways involved in lipid metabolism related processes, such as fatty acid metabolism and fatty acid elongation. Meanwhile a putative miRNA, gga-miR-18b-3p, was identified be served a function in the intramuscular adipocyte differentiation. Luciferase assay suggested that the gga-miR-18b-3p targeted to the 3′UTR of ACOT13. Subsequent functional experiments demonstrated that gga-miR-18b-3p acted as an inhibitor of intramuscular adipocyte differentiation by targeting ACOT13. Our findings laid a new theoretical foundation for the study of lipid metabolism, and also provided a potential target to improve the meat quality in the poultry industry.

Cashmere, also known as soft gold, is produced from the secondary hair follicles in Cashmere goats and it’s therefore of significance to investigate the molecular profiles during Cashmere goat hair follicle development. However, our current understanding of the machinery underlying Cashmere goat hair follicle remains largely unexplored and researches regarding hair follicle development mainly used the mouse as a research model. To provides comprehensively understanding on the cellular heterogeneity and cell lineage cell fate decisions, we performed single-cell RNA sequencing on 19,705 single cells from induction (embryonic day 60), organogenesis (embryonic day 90) and cytodifferentiation (embryonic day 120) stages of fetus Cashmere goat dorsal skin. Unsupervised clustering analysis identified 16 cell clusters and their corresponding cell types were also unprecedentedly characterized. Based on the lineage inference, we revealed detailed molecular landscape along the dermal and epidermal cell lineage developmental pathways. Notably, by cross-species comparasion of single cell data with murine model, we revelaed conserved programs during dermal condensate fate commitment and the heterochrony development of hair follicle development between mouse and Cashmere goat were also discussed here. Our work here delineate unparalleled molecular profiles of different cell populations during Cashmere goat hair follicle morphogenesis and provide a valuable resource for identifying biomarkers during Cashmere goat hair follicle development.

Background: Hair loss is a significant dermatological condition and hair regeneration depends on orderly cycle of hair follicle activity. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) suggests that BaoHeWan can improve dry and sparse hair, but the molecular mechanisms behind this effect are not well known. Methods: This study utilizes network pharmacology, phenotype observation, H&E staining, transcriptomics and molecular biology methods to investigate how anwuligan promote hair regeneration. demonstrated that anwuligan promoted hair regeneration in model mice. Results: Using network pharmacology analysis and molecular docking, anwuligan was found to be a major active ingredient in BaoHeWan, potentially acting by binding to CTNNB1. Transcriptomics analysis of mice treated with anwuligan, complemented by cellular validation, demonstrated that anwuligan induces upregulation of Ctnnb1 expression, activates the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, promotes the proliferation of hair follicle stem cells (HFSCs), and facilitates the progression of the hair follicle cycle. Conclusion: These results elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying anwuligan's facilitation of hair regeneration and offer a scientific foundation for the utilization of TCM in the treatment of hair loss.