The expression of intermediate filaments is sensitively reflected in cell function. To examine the involvement of keratin in a secretory function, 15 kinds of keratin (keratin-2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20) were detected immunohistochemically and immunoelectron microscopically in the rabbit duodenum. Four types of secretory cells existed in the rabbit duodenum: enteroendoc...

Epiplakin, a member of the plakin protein family, is exclusively expressed in epithelial tissues and was shown to bind to keratins. Epiplakin-deficient (EPPK-/-) mice showed no obvious spontaneous phenotype, however, EPPK-/- keratinocytes displayed faster keratin network breakdown in response to stress. The role of epiplakin in pancreas, a tissue with abundant keratin expression, was not yet kn...

The blistering skin disorder epidermolysis bullosa simplex (EBS) results from dominant mutations in keratin 5 (K5) or keratin 14 (K14) genes, encoding the intermediate filament (IF) network of basal epidermal keratinocytes. The mechanisms governing keratin network formation and collapse due to EBS mutations remain incompletely understood. Drosophila lacks cytoplasmic IFs, providing a 'null' env...

When tumour cells are fused with normal ones, malignancy is suppressed. It has been shown that this suppression is associated with the imposition on the hybrid cell of the terminal differentiation programme of the normal parent cell. We report here the consequences of imposing the synthesis of keratin 1 and keratin 10, markers of terminal differentiation in the epidermal keratinocyte, on malign...

introduction to evaluate the expression patterns of cytokeratin (k) 12, 13, and 19 in normal epithelium of the human ocular surface to determine whether k13 could be used as a marker for conjunctival epithelium. methods: total rna was isolated from the human conjunctiva and central cornea. those transcripts that had threefolds or higher expression levels in the conjunctiva than the cornea were ...

Actin filament and microtubule growth characteristics are defined by their different plus and minus ends. In contrast, intermediate filaments lack this type of polarity. Yet, intermediate filament network growth occurs by selective addition of newly formed and polymerizing keratin particles at peripheral network domains thereby allowing polarized network reorganization. To examine this process ...

In addition to containing microtubule and microfilament systems, vertebrate epithelial cells contain an elaborate keratin intermediate-filament cytoskeleton. Little is known about its structural organization or function. Using indirect immunofluorescence microscopy with an antikeratin antiserum probe, we found that destabilization of microtubules and microfilaments with cytostatic drugs induces...

The aim of this study is to investigate the use of keratin colloidal solution, which was obtained from wool, for the removal of Pb(II) from water. The addition of keratin colloidal solution (15 g L(-1), 0.30 mL) to a Pb(II) solution (1.0 mM, 0.90 mL, pH 5.0) resulted in the formation and precipitation of a Pb-keratin aggregate. Measurement of the Pb(II) and protein concentrations in the superna...

Keratins represent a large protein family with essential structural and functional roles in epithelial cells of skin, hair follicles, and other organs. During evolution the genes encoding keratins have undergone multiple rounds of duplication and humans have two clusters with a total of 55 functional keratin genes in their genomes. Due to the high similarity between different keratin paralogs a...

BACKGROUND Cadmium and arsenite can directly and malignantly transform the UROtsa cell line. The tumor heterotransplants produced from these transformed cells have histologic features consistent with human bladder cancer. Previous microarray analysis of total RNA from the parental and transformed cells suggested that keratin 6a was overexpressed as a result of cell transformation. OBJECTIVES ...