Journal: bioRxiv

Article Title: A novel fracture lattice in spiny mouse skin facilitates tissue autotomy and regeneration

doi: 10.64898/2026.03.23.713756

Figure Lengend Snippet: The regional specificity and temporal development of the fracture lattice in Acomys skin. a , H&E images of horizontal sections of head, neck, abdominal, vibrissa, instep, and footpad skin of Acomys . Scale bars, 200 μm. Note that except for a faint pattern in the abdominal skin, the fracture lattice is absent in other skin regions. b , H&E images of horizontal sections of Acomys back skin at different developmental stages. Note that at postnatal day 21, the pattern looks weak and primitive, but at postnatal day 77, the patterns become clear and definitive. Scale bars, 1 mm. c , Schematic depicting the hair cycle of Acomys . d , H&E images of vertical sections of Acomys back skin show the maturation process of the fracture lattice along with the entry of hair cycle of spiny hairs. Scale bars, 1 mm. e , H&E images of horizontal sections of Acomys back skin showing that overexpression of DKK1 disrupted the fracture lattice formation. Scale bars, 1 mm. f , H&E images of horizontal sections of Acomys back skin showing that 5-FU treatment resulted in abnormal formation of the fracture lattice. Scale bars, 1 mm. g , Normalized force-displacement curves of 5-FU treated and control Acomys skin.

Article Snippet: A 5% 5-FU (MedChemExpress) stock solution was prepared by dissolving the compound in DMSO (Sigma-Aldrich).

Techniques: Over Expression, Control

Journal: bioRxiv

Article Title: A novel fracture lattice in spiny mouse skin facilitates tissue autotomy and regeneration

doi: 10.64898/2026.03.23.713756

Figure Lengend Snippet: Genetic and pharmacologic manipulations for inhibiting spiny hair formation. a , H&E images of horizontal sections of Acomys back skin at different developmental stages. Note that during early development, the fracture lattice is absent. Scale bars, 1 mm. b , Schematic illustrations depicting the remodeling process of the fracture lattice from a primitive pattern (P21) to a definitive pattern (P77). c , Schematic depicting the design of lentiviral construct for overexpression Acomys Dkk1 gene. Acomys DKK1 expression and secretion were confirmed by Western blot analysis using an anti-Myc-tag antibody. d , (left) Representative photo of ultrasound-guided lentivirus injection into the yolk sac cavity of an E16.5 Acomys embryo. (right) Fluorescence stereoscope image showing strong expression of H2B-RFP in an E30.5 Acomys embryo. e , Representative images showing that overexpression of AcoDKK1 effectively blocked the formation of hair follicles in Acomys skin. Scale bars, 200μm. f , Experimental timeline of AcoDKK1 overexpression and analysis of fracture lattice formation. g , Experimental timeline of 5-FU treatment and analysis of fracture lattice formation. h , Photographs showing that topical 5-FU treatment effectively inhibited spiny hair formation in Acomys back skin.

Article Snippet: A 5% 5-FU (MedChemExpress) stock solution was prepared by dissolving the compound in DMSO (Sigma-Aldrich).

Techniques: Construct, Over Expression, Expressing, Western Blot, Injection, Fluorescence