Recently we generated keratin 10 knockout mice which provided a valuable model for the dominantly inherited skin disorder epidermolytic hyperkeratosis. Here we investigated the molecular basis for their phenotype. Hetero- and homozygotes expressed a truncated keratin 10 peptide which has been identified directly by microsequencing. Epitope mapping of monoclonal antibodies to keratin 10T enabled...

Cell motility and cell shape adaptations are crucial during wound healing, inflammation, and malignant progression. These processes require the remodeling of the keratin cytoskeleton to facilitate cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesion. However, the role of keratins for biomechanical properties and invasion of epithelial cells is only partially understood. In this study, we address this issue in mu...

The cloning of three intermediate filament proteins expressed at the gastrula stage (kl, Y1, X1) extends the size of the IF multigene family of Branchiostoma to at least 13 members. This is one of the largest protein families established for the lancelet. Sequence comparisons indicate five keratin orthologs, three of type I (E1, k1, Y1) and two of type II (E2, D1). This assignment is confirmed ...

.................................................................................................................. 6 LIST OF ORIGINAL PUBLICATIONS (THESIS) .................................................. 7 LIST OF ORIGINAL PUBLICATIONS (NOT IN THESIS) ................................... 8 ABBREVIATIONS .............................................................................................

Several tumorigenic (benign and malignant) clones have been raised from the human epidermal cell line HaCaT after transfection with the c-Ha-ras oncogene (val 12) (P. Boukamp et al., Cancer Res., 50: 2840-2847, 1990). In culture, these HaCaT-ras clones expressed epidermal differentiation markers, such as keratins K1 and 10, at high density or upon depletion of retinoic acid. Accordingly, as HaC...

Cytokeratins (CK or CKs) are the largest complex group of IF proteins. These are proteins, that are crucial in the development and differentiation of epithelial cells, as well as essential for normal tissue structure and function. The first keratin protein nomenclature was published by Moll et al. (1982) and it has been repeatedly updated in recent years (Schweizer et al., 2006). Based on the r...

Intermediate filament proteins (IFs), such as cytoplasmic keratins in epithelial cells and vimentin in mesenchymal cells and the nuclear lamins, make up one of the three major cytoskeletal protein families. Whether in digestive organs or other tissues, IFs share several unique features including stress-inducible overexpression, abundance, cell-selective and differentiation state expression, and...

Several tumorigenic (benign and malignant) clones have been raised from the human epidermal cell line HaCaT after transfection with the cllu-ruv oncogene (val 12) (P. Boukamp et a/.. Cancer Res., 50: 28402847, 1990). In culture, these HaCaT-nu clones expressed epidermal differentiation markers, such as keratins Kl and 10, at high density or upon depletion of retinoic acid. Accordingly, as HaCaT...

Keratin K6 is a protein that is expressed in human skin under conditions of hyperproliferation (e.g., wound-healing, psoriasis, and cell culture) and malignant transformation (e.g., squamous cell carcinomas). When induced, the appearance of K6 is rapid: if skin tissue is placed in radiolabeled culture medium, this protein can be detected within an hour. The regulation of K6 seems to be controll...

Rabbit esophageal epithelium, a parakeratinized stratified epithelium, synthesizes as one of its major differentiation products a keratin pair consisting of a basic K4 (59 kDa) and an acidic K13 (41 kDa) keratin. Although immunohistochemical staining data suggest that in esophageal epithelia of some other species these two keratins are suprabasally located, antigenic masking of the epitopes in ...