Oliver's mTOR Atlas Evidence Platform
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mTOR mediates Wnt-induced epidermal stem cell exhaustion and aging

Castilho RM, Squarize CH, Chodosh LA, Williams BO, Gutkind JS · 2009 · Cell stem cell · Atlas ID CAS2009

What this study shows

Wnt-induced mTOR activation drives epidermal stem-cell senescence; rapamycin rescues it.

Abstract

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Epidermal integrity is a complex process established during embryogenesis and maintained throughout the organism lifespan by epithelial stem cells. Although Wnt regulates normal epithelial stem cell renewal, aberrant Wnt signaling can contribute to cancerous growth. Here, we explored the consequences of persistent expressing Wnt1 in an epidermal compartment that includes the epithelial stem cells. Surprisingly, Wnt caused the rapid growth of the hair follicles, but this was followed by epithelial cell senescence, disappearance of the epidermal stem cell compartment, and progressive hair loss.

Read the full abstract on PubMed →

At a glance

Evidence type A Animal model Marked A because it is an animal intervention or observation study measuring an organismal outcome (model: Mouse); the code names the system studied -- animal work can be rigorous and still not be human data.
Study type4 - Animal Study
Model systemMouse
JournalCell stem cell
Year2009
Peer reviewedYes
Record last updated2026-10-01
SourceDOI 10.1016/j.stem.2009.06.017 · PMID 19733540 · Free full text (PMC2939833)

Extracted findings

These fields were extracted from the paper with AI assistance and have not been checked against the source. Read them as a pointer into the paper, not as curated claims; where they disagree with the curated summary above, the curated summary stands.

InterventionWnt1 overexpression; rapamycin rescue
TargetmTOR
ModelMouse (epidermal stem cells)
EffectWnt→mTOR drives stem-cell senescence/exhaustion and hair loss; rapamycin reverses it
Dosenot stated
Sample sizen=25 mutant and wild-type littermates
Effect sizeWnt1 expression caused terminal differentiation of HF after 90 days, leading to progressive hair loss.
LimitationsNo nuclear β-catenin staining could be observed, possibly due to strong membrane signal or limited nuclear β-catenin; further investigation is warranted on the contribution of particular Wnt1 receptors.

In the Atlas

Related topics

mTOR

Open questions that cite this study

Cite this paper

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Castilho, R. M., Squarize, C. H., Chodosh, L. A., Williams, B. O., & Gutkind, J. S. (2009). mTOR mediates Wnt-induced epidermal stem cell exhaustion and aging. Cell stem cell. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stem.2009.06.017

@article{CAS2009,
  author       = {Castilho, R. M. and Squarize, C. H. and Chodosh, L. A. and Williams, B. O. and Gutkind, J. S.},
  title        = {{mTOR mediates Wnt-induced epidermal stem cell exhaustion and aging}},
  journal      = {Cell stem cell},
  year         = {2009},
  doi          = {10.1016/j.stem.2009.06.017},
  note         = {PMID: 19733540},
}

Cite this Atlas record

The record is the Atlas's own work — the evidence label, the extracted findings and the links. It is cited as part of the dataset, not as the paper. 

Barton, O. (2026). Oliver's mTOR Atlas (record CAS2009) [Data set]. https://mtor-atlas.org/study/CAS2009/ · Dataset DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22059963

@misc{atlas_CAS2009,
  author       = {Barton, Oliver},
  title        = {{Oliver's mTOR Atlas}, record CAS2009},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://mtor-atlas.org/study/CAS2009/},
  doi          = {10.5281/zenodo.22059963}
}
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