The developmental basis of fingerprint pattern formation and variation.

James D Glover, Zoe R Sudderick, Barbara Bo-Ju Shih, Cameron Batho-Samblas, Laura Charlton, Andrew L Krause, Calum Anderson, Jon Riddell, Adam Balic, Jinxi Li, Václav Klika, Thomas E Woolley, Eamonn A Gaffney, Andrea Corsinotti, Richard A Anderson, Luke J Johnston, Sara J Brown, Sijia Wang, Yuhang Chen, Michael L Crichton, Denis J Headon

Journal: Cell 2023;186(5):940-956.e20

PMID: 36764291

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Abstract

Fingerprints are complex and individually unique patterns in the skin. Established prenatally, the molecular and cellular mechanisms that guide fingerprint ridge formation and their intricate arrangements are unknown. Here we show that fingerprint ridges are epithelial structures that undergo a truncated hair follicle developmental program and fail to recruit a mesenchymal condensate. Their spatial pattern is established by a Turing reaction-diffusion system, based on signaling between EDAR, WNT, and antagonistic BMP pathways. These signals resolve epithelial growth into bands of focalized proliferation under a precociously differentiated suprabasal layer. Ridge formation occurs as a set of waves spreading from variable initiation sites defined by the local signaling environments and anatomical intricacies of the digit, with the propagation and meeting of these waves determining the type of pattern that forms. Relying on a dynamic patterning system triggered at spatially distinct sites generates the characteristic types and unending variation of human fingerprint patterns.

Address: The Roslin Institute and R(D)SVS, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH25 9RG, UK.; Institute of Mechanical, Process and Energy Engineering, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UK.; Department of Mathematical Sciences, Durham University, Durham DH1 3LE, UK.; State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Human Phenome Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, PRC.; Department of Mathematics, FNSPE, Czech Technical University in Prague, Prague 16000, Czechia.; School of Mathematics, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF24 4AW, UK.; Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford OX2 6GG, UK.; Centre for Regenerative Medicine, Institute for Regeneration and Repair, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH16 4UU, UK.; MRC Centre for Reproductive Health, Queens Medical Research Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH16 4TJ, UK.; Centre for Genomic & Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK.; CAS Key Laboratory of Computational Biology, Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, PRC.; The Roslin Institute and R(D)SVS, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH25 9RG, UK. Electronic address: [email protected].

DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2023.01.015

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MeSH Terms: Humans, Skin, Signal Transduction