Differentially expressed genes of secondary hair follicles during annual cashmere growth

Cashmere grows from the secondary hair follicles (SHFs) that synchronously regenerate and degenerate in a circannual rhythm. Most studies examining factors related to cashmere growth have been performed on goat skin. However, the molecular properties and regulators preferentially expressed in SHFs are less clear. In this study, we isolated the SHFs from skin under a dissecting microscope and analyzed the molecular signatures across the annual growth. We performed RNA sequencing in 12 samples across six-time points, representing the anagen (May and September), catagen (November and December) and telogen (February and March) phases, each with two biological replicates (male and female). We identified 1,289 molecular signatures that were differentially expressed between different phases. Taken together, these identified molecular signatures extended previous findings, and provide a variety of promising targets for cashmere production, thereby offering valuable starting points for future work.