Journal Article

DZNE-2020-03640

http://join2-wiki.gsi.de/foswiki/pub/Main/Artwork/join2_logo100x88.png Skin fragility and impaired desmosomal adhesion in mice lacking all keratins.

Bär, J. ; Kumar, V. ; Roth, W.DZNE* ; Schwarz, N. ; Richter, M. ; Leube, R. E. ; Magin, T. M. (Corresponding author)

2014
Elsevier Amsterdam

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Please use a persistent id in citations: doi:10.1038/jid.2013.416

Abstract: Keratins perform major structural and regulatory functions in epithelia. Owing to redundancy, their respective contribution to epidermal integrity, adhesion, and cell junction formation has not been addressed in full. Unexpectedly, the constitutive deletion of type II keratins in mice was embryonic lethal ∼ E9.5 without extensive tissue damage. This prompted us to analyze keratin functions in skin where keratins are best characterized. Here, we compare the mosaic and complete deletion of all type II keratins in mouse skin, with distinct consequences on epidermal integrity, adhesion, and organismal survival. Mosaic knockout (KO) mice survived ∼ 12 days while global KO mice died perinatally because of extensive epidermal damage. Coinciding with absence of keratins, epidermal fragility, inflammation, increased epidermal thickness, and increased proliferation were noted in both strains of mice, accompanied by significantly smaller desmosomes. Decreased desmosome size was due to accumulation of desmosomal proteins in the cytoplasm, causing intercellular adhesion defects resulting in intercellular splits. Mixing different ratios of wild-type and KO keratinocytes revealed that ∼ 60% of keratin-expressing cells were sufficient to maintain epithelial sheets under stress. Our data reveal a major contribution of keratins to the maintenance of desmosomal adhesion and epidermal integrity with relevance for the treatment of epidermolysis bullosa simplex and other keratinopathies.

Keyword(s): Animals (MeSH) ; Cell Adhesion (MeSH) ; Cell Membrane: metabolism (MeSH) ; Cytoplasm: metabolism (MeSH) ; Desmosomes: metabolism (MeSH) ; Disease Models, Animal (MeSH) ; Epidermis: metabolism (MeSH) ; Epidermolysis Bullosa Simplex: metabolism (MeSH) ; Epithelium: metabolism (MeSH) ; Gene Deletion (MeSH) ; Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental (MeSH) ; Keratinocytes: metabolism (MeSH) ; Keratins, Type II: genetics (MeSH) ; Keratins, Type II: metabolism (MeSH) ; Mice (MeSH) ; Mice, Knockout (MeSH) ; Mosaicism (MeSH) ; Phenotype (MeSH) ; Skin: embryology (MeSH) ; Skin: pathology (MeSH) ; Keratins, Type II

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Contributing Institute(s):

1. Systems Phenomics (AG Fava 1)

Research Program(s):

1. 342 - Disease Mechanisms and Model Systems (POF3-342) (POF3-342)

Appears in the scientific report 2014

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Database coverage:
; BIOSIS Previews ; Clarivate Analytics Master Journal List ; Current Contents - Clinical Medicine ; Current Contents - Life Sciences ; Ebsco Academic Search ; IF >= 5 ; JCR ; NCBI Molecular Biology Database ; SCOPUS ; Science Citation Index ; Science Citation Index Expanded ; Web of Science Core Collection

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