Keratins I and II form the largest subgroups of mammalian intermediate filament (IF) proteins and account as obligatory heteropolymers for the keratin filaments of epithelia. All human type I genes except for the K18 gene are clustered on chromosome 17q21, while all type II genes form a cluster on chromosome 12q13, that ends with the type I gene K18. Highly related keratin gene clusters are fou...

The keratin polypeptide pattern of newborn mouse back, ear, and tail epidermis is uniform and consists of eight individual proteins with a molecular weight range of 46,000 to 67,000. In the adult animal, the keratin patterns of the corresponding body sites are both different from the neonatal pattern and different among themselves. Most notably, ear and tail epider mis contains a high-molecular...

Keratin is a structural protein of mammalian tissues and birds, representing the principal constituent hair, nails, skin, wool, hooves, horns, beaks, feathers, playing an essential role in protecting body from external harassment. Due to its intrinsic features such as biocompatibility, biodegradability, responsiveness specific biological environment, physical–chemical properties, keratin has be...

Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is a tumor consisting of squamous epithelial cells. This tumor is relatively uncommon in goats. In this report, we discuss clinical, gross and histopathological features of SCC in six goats. The goats were referred to the veterinary clinic with a progressive ulcerative and hemorrhagic mass located in the perineal area. The vital signs (temperature, pulse rate, resp...

Human hair has three main regions, the medulla, the cortex, and the cuticle. An existing model for the cortex suggests that the α-keratin- based intermediate filaments (IFs) align with the hair's axis, but are orientationally disordered in-plane. We found that there is a new region in the cortex near the cuticle's boundary in which the IFs are aligned with the hair's axis, but additionally, the...

Using mRNA from cultured human mesothelial cells, we constructed bacterial plasmids and lambda phage vectors that contained cDNA sequences specific for the keratins expressed in these cells. A cloned cDNA encoding keratin K7 (55 kD) was identified by positive hybrid selection. Southern Blot analysis indicated that this sequence is represented only once in the human genome, and Northern Blot ana...

Keratin 24 (K24) is a new kind of keratin genes, which encodes a novel keratin protein, K24 that bears high similarity to the type I keratins and displays a unique expression profile. However, the role of K24 is incompletely understood. In our study, we investigated the localization of K24 within the epidermis and possible functions. Keratin 24 was found to be modestly overexpressed in senescen...

Epidermolytic Ichthyosis (EI) is a rare autosomal dominant genodermatosis. Although an inherited disorder, 50% of cases represent novel mutations. This disorder presents as a bullous disease in newborns progressing to a lifelong ichthyotic skin disorder.  Other manifestations include palmoplantar keratoderma (PPK).  EI results from mutations in the keratin 1 and keratin 10 genes. Phenotypic var...

Background; Feather waste is generated in large amounts as a by-product of commercial poultry processing. The main component of feather is keratin. The main purpose of this study was to identify Bacillus spp. (the keratinolytic bacteria) that are able to degrade the feather for producing keratin. Methods; Bacillus spp. Were isolated from the waste of poultries located in Miyaneh city. The bact...