Although numerous hair proteins have been studied biochemically and many have been sequenced, relatively little is known about their in situ distribution and differential expression in the hair follicle. To study this problem, we have prepared several mouse monoclonal antibodies that recognize different classes of human hair proteins. Our AE14 antibody recognizes a group of 10-25K hair proteins...

The genomic database for a marsupial, the opossum Monodelphis domestica, is highly advanced. This allowed a complete analysis of the keratin I and keratin II gene cluster with some 30 genes in each cluster as well as a comparison with the human keratin clusters. Human and marsupial keratin gene clusters have an astonishingly similar organization. As placental mammals and marsupials are sister g...

Integrin-linked kinase (ILK) links integrins to the actin cytoskeleton and is believed to phosphorylate several target proteins. We report that a keratinocyte-restricted deletion of the ILK gene leads to epidermal defects and hair loss. ILK-deficient epidermal keratinocytes exhibited a pronounced integrin-mediated adhesion defect leading to epidermal detachment and blister formation, disruption...

Myelin sheath geometry, encompassing myelin sheath thickness relative to internodal length, is critical to optimize nerve conduction velocity and these parameters are carefully adjusted by the myelinating cells in mammals. In the central nervous system these adjustments could regulate neuronal activities while in the peripheral nervous system they lead to the optimization and the reliability of...

AbsractA rare variant of ansa cervicalis was discovered during dissection of the neck in amale cadaver. The superior root of the Ansa cervicalis was formed by the C1 ventralramus. It accompanied with the vagus nerve in place of the hypoglossal nerve and descendedinto the carotid sheath with it. Moreover the C1 ventral ramus formed fromthe sheath and joined the inferior root from C2 and C3 ventr...

Two patients presented with the unusual condition of multiple warty dyskeratomas on the scalp. Biopsies of affected skin stained positive with human keratin monoclonal antibodies HKN-6 and -7, specific for cortex and inner root sheath of normal human hair, respectively. Multiple warty dyskeratomas are a rare occurrence and their aetiopathogenesis remains elusive. Positive immunohistochemical st...

Recent discovery of hair follicle keratin 75 (KRT75) in enamel raises questions about the function of this protein in enamel and the mechanisms of its secretion. It is also not clear how this protein with a very specific and narrow expression pattern, limited to the inner root sheath of the hair follicle, became associated with enamel. We propose a hypothesis that KRT75 was co-opted by amelobla...

Trichodysplasia spinulosa (TS) is a rare hair follicle disorder that develops in immunosuppressed patients and associated with productive infection by the TSPyV polyomavirus. Affected follicles contain an attenuated matrix, expanded compartment of aberrantly proliferating inner root sheath (IRS)-like cells containing viral particles, disorganized mass shaft-like cells. The expression early regi...