Electrophoretically homogeneous keratin A and keratin B were studied in the ultracentrifuge. Both preparations revealed two fractions: one which sedimented rapidly and another which sedimented slowly. This indicated that both preparations are heterogeneous with respect to particle size.

It is generally accepted that cementoblasts originate in the process of differentiation of the mesenchymal cells of the dental follicle. Recently, a different hypothesis for the origin of cementoblasts has been proposed. Hertwig's epithelial root sheath cells undergo the epithelial-mesenchymal transformation to differentiate into cementoblasts. To elucidate whether the epithelial-mesenchymal tr...

AIMS To investigate differences in expression of keratin 20, a cytoskeletal protein in gastrointestinal epithelial cells, in completely differentiated intestinal metaplasia (type I) and incomplete metaplasia (types II and III). METHODS Gastric biopsy specimens from 66 patients with intestinal metaplasia were analysed immunohistochemically. Expression of keratin 20 was quantified as the percen...

To elucidate the role of keratin modification in tumor promotion, we investigated the keratin polypeptide patterns of mouse epidermis, papillomas, and carcinomas throughout an initiation-promotion experiment. The epidermal keratin modifications induced by repetitive 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate treatments in both initiated and noninitiated mouse skin were essentially identical to those ...

We conducted two-dimensional (2D) discrete Fourier analyses of the spatial variation in refractive index of the spongy medullary keratin from four di¡erent colours of structurally coloured feather barbs from three species of bird: the rose-faced lovebird, Agapornis roseicollis (Psittacidae), the budgerigar, Melopsittacus undulatus (Psittacidae), and the Gouldian ¢nch, Poephila guttata (Estrildi...

Candida parapsilosis is an increasingly important human pathogen. However, little is known about its potential to cause disease. The aims of the present study were to analyse the production of acid proteinases by clinical isolates of C. parapsilosis in the presence of different keratinous substrates from human sources (stratum corneum, nail and hair) and to verify the capability of yeast cells ...

Dominant keratin mutations cause epidermolysis bullosa simplex by transforming keratin (K) filaments into aggregates. As a first step toward understanding the properties of mutant keratins in vivo, we stably transfected epithelial cells with an enhanced yellow fluorescent protein-tagged K14R125C mutant. K14R125C became localized as aggregates in the cell periphery and incorporated into perinucl...

Uncontrolled disposal of feathers from the poultry industry and slaughterhouses is environmentally undesirable. The feathers are composed of approximately 90% of keratin which is an important ingredient of cosmetics, shampoos and hair treatment creams. This study aimed to determine the optimum conditions for the extraction of keratin from chicken feathers. The extraction of keratin using variou...

BACKGROUND Bullous congenital ichthyosiform erythroderma (BCIE) shows phenotypic variability. An epidermal nevus may represent somatic mosaicism for keratin gene mutation, which produces generalized BCIE in the next generation. This fact provides evidence that a postzygotic mutation can be passed on to the next generation in BCIE. We hypothesized that the same phenomenon occurred in a family wi...

Keratin intermediate filament networks are part of the cytoskeleton in epithelial cells. They were found to regulate viscoelastic properties and motility of cancer cells. Due to unique biochemical properties of keratin polymers, the knowledge of the mechanisms controlling keratin network formation is incomplete. A combination of deterministic and stochastic modeling techniques can be a valuable...