Getting to the Core of the Dermal Papilla

Through coordinated and reciprocal interactions between the epithelium and mesenchyme, diverse integumentary organs form and undergo cyclic renewal. The hair follicle has become the main model to understand this extraordinary regenerative behavior. At the core is the dermal papilla, the organizing center, and the epithelial stem cells that respond to dermal papilla signaling. Two recent papers by Telerman et al. and Yang et al. unravel new molecular landscapes within the dermal papilla.