Keratins are a family of fibrous structural proteins that provide functional rigidity to a large number of animal tissues. They have long been present in the human diet; normally eaten in conjunction with animal food sources, such as when skin and hair are consumed. Certainly, keratin proteins ingested in this manner contribute only small proportions of total protein intake, and their bioavaila...

Hard a-keratins such as hair, nail, wool and horn are stiff epidermal appendages used by mammals in a variety of functions including thermoregulation, feeding and intraspecific competition. Hard a-keratins are fibre-reinforced structures consisting of cytoskeletal elements known as ‘intermediate filaments’ embedded in an amorphous protein matrix. Recent research has shown that intermediate fila...

In an earlier paper the authors (1) expressed the view that keratins are fibrous proteins whose characteristic properties are essentially determined by the S-S groups of cystine which act as very firmly established cross links uniting the elementary fibers of polypeptide chains. This view was based on the action of certain alkaline reductants which could be shown to reduce disulfides and conver...

Previous studies have indicated that some Simian-virus-40transformed human epidermal keratinocytes (SV40-HE) undergo significant changes in their growth and differentiated properties. To better understand the significance of these changes, we have characterized the keratins of SV40-HE cells by oneand twodimensional immunoblot analysis using the subfamily-specific AE1 and AE3 monoclonal antikera...

Keratins are a diverse group of structural proteins that form the intermediate filament network responsible for maintaining the structural integrity of keratinocytes. In humans, there are around 30 keratin families divided into two groups, namely, acidic and basic keratins, which are arranged in pairs. They are expressed in a highly specific pattern related to the epithelial type and stage of c...

Differentiation of the epidermis during embryonic rabbit development was found to be accompanied by dramatic changes in keratin proteins. Immunofluorescent labeling with keratin antiserum revealed that the undifferentiated epithelium of 12-d embryos was already committed to making keratin proteins. At 18 d of embryogenesis, the epithelium contained keratin proteins in the molecular weight range...

Keratins K8 and K18 are the major components of the intermediate filament cytoskeleton of simple epithelia. Increased levels of these keratins have been associated with invasive growth and progression to malignancy in different types of human and murine epithelial tumors (including skin tumors), and even in tumors from nonepithelial origin. However, it has not yet clarified whether K8/K18 expre...

Five-year survival rates for oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) are 30% and the mortality rate is 50%. Immunohistochemistry panels are used to evaluate proliferation, vascularization, apoptosis, HPV infection, and keratin expression, which are important markers of malignant progression. Keratins are a family of intermediate filaments predominantly expressed in epithelial cells and have an esse...

Keratins are proteins that form intermediate filaments of epithelial cell cytoskeleton. The utility of keratin expression determination is based on the fact that epithelial cells acquire a specific pattern of keratin expression during differentiation and maturation, which reflects the specificity of the tissue and the degree of maturation, and generally remains stable during carcinogenesis. Det...

The epidermis of the skin is a stratified squamous epithelium, which plays an important protective role. It manifests this role by building an extensive cytoskeletal architecture, the unique feature of which is the presence of keratin filaments. There are two major pairs of keratins in the epidermis: one pair is expressed in dividing cells and the other expressed in terminally differentiating c...