Department of Biological Chemistry and Department of Dermatology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
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Abstract |
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The type I keratin 17 (K17) shows a peculiar localization in human epithelial appendages including hair follicles, which undergo a growth cycle throughout adult life. Additionally K17 is induced, along with K6 and K16, early after acute injury to human skin. To gain further insights into its potential function(s), we cloned the mouse K17 gene and investigated its expression during skin development. Synthesis of K17 protein first occurs in a subset of epithelial cells within the single-layered, undifferentiated ectoderm of embryonic day 10.5 mouse fetuses. In the ensuing 48 h, K17-expressing cells give rise to placodes, the precursors of ectoderm-derived appendages (hair, glands, and tooth), and to periderm. During early development, there is a spatial correspondence in the distribution of K17 and that of lymphoid-enhancer factor (lef-1), a DNA-bending protein involved in inductive epithelial-mesenchymal interactions. We demonstrate that ectopic lef-1 expression induces K17 protein in the skin of adult transgenic mice. The pattern of K17 gene expression during development has direct implications for the morphogenesis of skin epithelia, and points to the existence of a molecular relationship between development and wound repair.
Key words: skin; hair; development; wound repair; keratin ![]() |
Introduction |
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IN spite of a recent revolution in the discovery of novel
genes, the most reliable criterium to define the epithelial nature of a cell remains keratin gene expression.
The pattern of keratin protein synthesis provides a useful
tool for studying progression through complex programs
of epithelial differentiation and cycles of epithelial self-renewal (Moll et al., 1982; O'Guin et al., 1990
; Byrne et al.,
1994
). Keratins belong the superfamily of intermediate filament (IF)1 proteins. There are in excess of 35 keratin
genes, and these can be partitioned into two distinct sequence types, I and II, based their genomic structure and
nucleotide sequence homology (Fuchs and Weber, 1994
).
Most keratin genes, including the type II K1-K8 and the
type I K9-K20, are expressed in soft epithelia (Moll et al.,
1982
; O'Guin et al., 1990
). In addition, a group of seven
type I (Ha1-Ha7) and six type II (Hb1-Hb6) keratin
genes are expressed in hard epithelia such as hair and nail
(Rogers et al., 1997
; Winter et al., 1997
). Epithelial cells
coordinately regulate the expression of at least one type I
and one type II gene, reflecting the requirement for both
types of keratin proteins in a 1:1 molar ratio to sustain the
assembly of 10-nm filaments (Coulombe, 1993
). Many
type I and type II keratin genes are de facto regulated in a
pairwise fashion and in an epithelial tissue type- and differentiation-specific manner, even though any combination of type I and type II proteins can produce a filamentous polymer in vitro (Hatzfeld and Franke, 1985
). The
notions of sequence diversity, pairwise regulation, and differentiation-specific expression of keratin genes have
largely been conserved throughout evolution, suggesting
the existence of a functional link between keratin proteins
and the diversity of structure and function of epithelial tissues.
Our laboratory is interested in the regulation and function of three keratin genes, the type II K6 and the type I
K16 and K17, which cannot be readily associated with
a well-defined epithelial context (O'Guin et al., 1990).
These genes show an analogous pattern of expression in
human skin that includes a constitutive expression in the
hair follicle, sporadic expression in the thick epidermis of
palm and sole skin, but no expression in interfollicular epidermis (Moll et al., 1983
; Troyanovsky et al., 1989
). K17 is
also expressed in the myoepithelium surrounding secretory epithelial cells in many glandular tissues (Troyanovsky et al., 1989
). Moreover, K6, K16, and K17 are
induced under conditions associated with enhanced proliferation and abnormal differentiation, such as viral infection, inflammation, psoriasis, carcinoma, and after acute
injury to various stratified epithelia (Weiss et al., 1984
;
Stoler et al., 1988
; Jiang et al., 1994
; Leigh et al., 1995
; Paladini et al., 1996
; McGowan and Coulombe, 1998
). Although its functional significance has not yet been established, the accumulation of K6, K16, and K17 occurs at the
expense of the keratins normally expressed under basal
conditions and correlates with major changes in epithelial cytoarchitecture (Paladini et al., 1996
; Coulombe, 1997
;
McGowan and Coulombe, 1998
).
In comparison with the other wound-induced keratins,
K6 and K16, relatively little is known about the significance of K17 gene expression and the properties and function(s) of K17 protein. To gain some insight into this question we wanted to examine K17 expression in a context
potentially related to wound repair, epidermal development. Whereas one functional human 17 gene and two
pseudogenes have been characterized (Troyanovsky et al.,
1992), only a partial cDNA is available for mouse K17
(Knapp et al., 1987
). To facilitate our studies we cloned the
full-length gene for mouse K17 and examined its expression by producing a high-titer monospecific antiserum. We
discovered that K17 is expressed at an early stage of skin morphogenesis according to a complex spatial pattern, and
that the transcription lymphoid-enhancer factor (lef-1) is
likely to play a role in its regulation. Our data led us to propose a revised model for skin morphogenesis, and suggest
the existence of a molecular relationship between development and the wound repair response in adult skin epithelia.
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Materials and Methods |
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Materials
Materials were obtained from the following sources: 129SvJ mouse genomic library packaged into Lambda Fix II and pBluescript vector from Stratagene (La Jolla, CA); restriction endonucleases and DNA modifying enzymes from New England Biolabs (Beverly, MA); Superscript II reverse transcriptase from Life Technologies (Grand Island, NY); Nytran membranes from Schleicher & Schuell (Keene, NH); Hybond-N filters from Amersham Corp. (Arlington Heights, IL); phage and plasmid DNA purification kits from QIAGEN Corp. (Santa Clarita, CA); LA-Taq DNA polymerase from Panvera Corp. (Madison, WI); alkaline-phosphatase antibody detection kit from Bio-Rad Laboratories (Hercules, CA). All other chemicals were reagent grade and were typically obtained from Sigma Chemical Co. (St. Louis, MO).
Animal Protocols
All studies involving animals were reviewed by the Johns Hopkins University Animal Use and Care Committee (Baltimore, MD). For studies involving experimental injury adult mice were anesthetized with avertin and
their backs were epilated with Nair cream (Carter-Wallace Inc., New
York, NY). A surgical area was disinfected and full thickness skin wounds
were made with a 4-mm punch (AcuPunch; Acuderm Inc., Ft. Lauderdale,
FL). The injured area was cleaned and covered with anti-bacterial ointment until the time of killing. For developmental studies, mouse embryos
were isolated from timed pregnancies of B6C3F1/J mice (Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME). Individual matings were initiated at 6:00 pm and
monitored the next morning at 8:00 am. At this time the males were removed and the females were examined for the appearance of a vaginal
plug. If copulatory plugs were detected, the date was recorded and the
pregnancy was timed using 12 noon as embryonic day (e) = 0.5 d (Kaufman, 1992). On days 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 16, and 18 at 12:00 noon, the embryos were isolated and fixed in either Bouin's fixative for subsequent embedding in paraffin or frozen in OCT Compound (Tissue-Tek; Sakura Finetek, Torrance, CA) for preparation of cryosections. Additional tissues from lef-1 overexpressing and lef-1-null mice were obtained from E. Fuchs (University of Chicago, Chicago, IL) (Zhou et al., 1995
) and R. Grosschedl (University of California, San Francisco, CA) (van Genderen
et al., 1994
), respectively.
RNA Isolation
RNA samples were obtained from control and experimentally wounded
mouse back skin using guanidine thioisocyanate (GTC)-phenol extraction
method (Bessho et al., 1993). The wounded tissue samples were extracted
72 h after experimental injury to enhance the abundance of wound-induced
keratin gene mRNAs.
Immunological Analyses
For immunoblot analyses, known quantities of recombinant human keratins were electrophoresed, transferred to nitrocellulose, and the blots
were incubated with primary antisera diluted in blocking buffer (Tris-buffered saline with 0.5% Tween 20 and 5% powdered milk). Bound
primary antibodies were revealed by alkaline phosphatase-conjugated
secondary antibodies as recommended by the manufacturer (Bio-Rad
Laboratories). The primary antisera for K17 and K6 were prepared as described below. Immunohistochemical analyses were performed on 5-µm
sections prepared from either paraffin-embedded or fresh-frozen tissues.
The sections were first reacted with the primary antisera and then revealed with either a peroxidase-based reaction (Kirkegaard and Perry
Laboratories, Gaithersburg, MD) or by indirect immunofluorescence
(Jackson Immunological Reagents, West Grove, PA). In addition to the
antisera mentioned above, other primary antisera used in these studies
were: a guinea pig anti-K8/18 purchased from ARP laboratories (Belmont, MA); a mouse monoclonal anti-K10 (clone K8.60) from Sigma
Chemical Co.; a mouse monoclonal anti-K14 (LL001) donated by I. Leigh
(London Hospital Medical College, London, UK) (Purkis et al., 1990);
and a rabbit anti-lef-1 donated by R. Grosschedl (van Genderen et al.,
1994
). Double-immunofluorescence staining using primary antibodies from the same species (rabbit anti-K17 and rabbit anti-lef-1) was performed as described (Lewis-Carl et al., 1993
).
Screening the Mouse Genomic Library
Approximately 1.5 d × 106 phage clones were screened with [-32P]dCTP
radiolabeled probes. The initial round of screening was performed using
two probes. The first probe was derived from the rod portion of the published human keratin 16 cDNA (Paladini et al., 1995
). This domain is
highly conserved among the type I keratin sequences, particularly K14,
K16, and K17. The second probe was generated by reverse transcription
(RT)-PCR using RNA isolated from mouse back skin 72 h after experimental wounding as described (Takahashi et al., 1998
). The oligonucleotides were based on the partial mouse K17 cDNA sequence published by
Knapp and colleagues (Knapp et al., 1987
) and amplified a 700-bp fragment containing the COOH terminus and 3' untranslated regions of this
mRNA. The strategy was to use the first probe as a means of identifying all the type I keratin genes contained in the library and then apply the
K17-specific probe on a duplicate set of filters to identify the K17 containing phages. Hybridization and washes were carried out as suggested by the
manufacturer (Stratagene). Positive colonies were isolated by repeated
plaque purification as described (Sambrook et al., 1989
). Phage DNA was
extracted and analyzed by restriction enzyme digestion and Southern blotting. DNA fragments expected to contain expressed regions of the K17
gene were subcloned in pBluescript KS+ and sequenced. DNA sequencing and reconstruction of mouse keratin 17 gene locus was performed with
the assistance of the Johns Hopkins University DNA Sequencing Core
Facility (Baltimore, MD).
Mouse K17 cDNA Clone
A cDNA clone containing the entire coding sequence of K17 was obtained via RT-PCR with oligonucleotides derived from the SvJ129 genomic sequence using RNA from experimentally wounded back skin of a SvJ129 mouse. The primers used were: forward primer, 5'-ACGTGGATCCCGCTGCCACCATGACCACCA-3'; and reverse primer, 5'-GCTGTAGCAGGAGGGTGATGCCGGAGCGGA-3'.
The PCR conditions applied were 94°C for 1 min (denaturation); 55°C
for 1 min (annealing), and 72°C for 2 min (elongation) for 25 cycles. The
1.3-kb product obtained (as expected) was subcloned in pGEM-T
(Promega Corp., Madison, WI) and subjected to DNA sequence analysis
as described above. Sense and anti-sense probes corresponding to the 3'-untranslated region-specific probe were also generated and used by Carroll et al. (1997) for in situ analysis of K17 mRNA expression.
Antibody Production and Characterization
Synthetic peptides (see below) were conjugated to maleimide-activated
keyhole limpet hemocyanin carrier as described by the manufacturer
(Pierce Chemical Co., Rockford, IL) and used for the production of
monospecic anti-keratin polyclonal antisera in rabbits according to standard procedures (Covance Research Products, Denver, PA). A 12-mer
peptide, NH2-C-S-S-R-E-Q-V-H-Q-T-T-R-COOH, was used for the production of an antiserum to K17 (anti-K17), and a 9-mer peptide, NH2-C-S-S-T-I-K-Y-T-T-COOH, was used for the production of an antiserum
that recognizes all K6 isoforms (anti-K6gen; Takahashi et al., 1998).
Bleeds were tested with the immunoblot procedures described above using recombinant keratin proteins prepared as described (Takahashi et al.,
1994
; Wawersik et al., 1997
).
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Results |
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Isolation and Characterization of Genomic and cDNA Clones for Mouse K17
We screened 106 clones from a 129 SvJ mouse genomic library (average insert size: 15-20 kb). An initial pool of 31 phage clones was established in which two clones (designated 16-9 and 16-61) were found to hybridize strongly
with a K17-specific probe. Further analyses on these two
clones revealed that they contain overlapping inserts that
included the 3' portion of a type I keratin gene whose coding and 3' noncoding sequences were identical to the previously reported partial K17 cDNA (Knapp et al., 1987).
Genomic walking yielded a third phage, designated 16-8, which contained the 5' portion of this gene. DNA sequence analyses revealed the presence of a 925 nucleotide
overlap between the genomic inserts contained in phages
16-8 and 16-9. The contiguity of these two inserts in 129 SvJ mouse genomic DNA was confirmed by a PCR experiment (data not shown).
The nucleotide sequence of all exons and intron-exon
junctions, 5' upstream and 3' noncoding sequences was determined for the candidate K17 genomic clone (see Fig. 2).
The boundaries of the functional elements in the gene isolated were established via comparison with the previously
cloned human K17 gene (Troyanovsky et al., 1992) and a
near full-length mouse K17 cDNA clone (see below). The
candidate mouse K17 gene contains eight exons interrupted by seven introns (1-7). The sequence of the exon-
intron boundaries (Fig. 2) conforms to the consensus splicing signals (Shapiro and Senapathy, 1987
). All introns
occur within the protein coding sequence (Figs. 1 and 2) at
positions that are perfectly conserved in all type I keratin
genes, including human K17 (Troyanovsky et al., 1992
).
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Oligonucleotide primers spanning the putative translation start codon (forward) and 3' non-translated region (reverse) in the candidate K17 gene were used to obtain an ~1.3-kb cDNA clone by RT-PCR. The nucleotide sequence of the cDNA clone is identical to the open reading frame contained within exons 1-8 in the candidate K17 genomic sequence and to the previously reported mouse partial K17 cDNA (data not shown) (Fig. 2). Together with the distribution of the corresponding keratin protein observed via immunohistochemistry (see below), this led us to conclude that the gene and cDNA that we have isolated encode mouse keratin 17.
An alignment of the cDNA and genomic sequences is
shown diagramatically in Fig. 1. As for other keratin genes
there is no obvious correspondence between the placement of introns and the predicted protein domains. The 5'
leader, the entire head domain and the 1A subdomain of
the rod are encoded by exon 1, the largest of the eight exons (Table I). Exons 2-6 code for nearly all the remaining
portions of the postulated -helical rod domain including linkers, the exception being the last residue of subdomain
2B at the COOH terminus. The very short exon 7 codes
for this last residue and the first eight amino acids of the
nonhelical tail domain. Finally, the remainder of the tail
domain (31 amino acids) and the entire 3' nontranslated
region are encoded by exon 8.
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Inspection of the 5' upstream sequence from our cloned
sequence revealed the presence of a TATAA motif located 95 bases upstream of a potential translation start site
with the consensus sequence defined by Kozak (1987)
(Fig. 2). Inspection of the proximal 5' upstream sequence
revealed the presence of consensus binding sites for several known transcription factors (Fig. 2). These include AP-2, which has been shown to concentrate at sites of future hair follicle formation during epidermal development
(Byrne et al., 1994
), and several NF-IL-6(C/EBP-
) and
GAS sites, which are involved in the upregulation gene expression during inflammation and viral infection as previously discussed for the human K17 gene (Proby et al.,
1993
; Jiang et al., 1994
; Troyanovsky and Leube, 1994
; Bonnekoh et al., 1995
; Vogel et al., 1995
; Komine et al.,
1996
). A detailed analysis of the complete K17 promoter
sequence will be reported elsewhere.
The Human and Mouse K17 Gene and Predicted Protein Sequences Are Highly Conserved
Table I compares various functional elements from the
mouse (this study) and human K17 gene (Troyanovsky et
al., 1992). At ~4.8 kb in total length, the mouse gene is
slightly shorter than its human orthologue, due primarily
to shorter introns 1 and 2. Whereas exon 8 is shorter in
mouse at the level of the 3' noncoding portion, exons 1-7
are of identical size between mouse and human (Table I).
As a result, the K17 protein is predicted to be of similar
size in human and mouse (see below). As illustrated in Fig.
1, the mouse K17 gene is flanked by a K17-like gene on its 5' side and the K16 gene on the 3' side. A characterization
of the latter will be reported elsewhere (McGowan, K.M.,
K.M. Hess, and P.A. Coulombe, manuscript in preparation). Of note, Troyanovsky et al. (1992)
showed that the
functional human K17 gene is flanked by a K17 pseudogene on its 5' side and the functional K16 gene on its 3'
side, all of which reside within the cluster of type I keratin
genes on chromosome 17q. It appears likely that these keratin genes reside on chromosome 11q in mouse, since it is
syntenic with human chromosome 17q and contains a cluster of type I genes (Nadeau et al., 1989
).
An alignment of the predicted amino acid sequences of mouse and human K17, as well as human K14 and K16, is shown on Fig. 3. The mouse sequence (433 amino acids) is longer than human K17 by one amino acid (Table I) due to the insertion of a Pro residue at position 400 within the tail domain (Fig. 3). The primary sequence of the head, rod, and tail domains of mouse and human K17 show 88% (73 out of 83 residues), 96% (302 of 312 residues), and 97% identity (37 of 38 residues), respectively. Most of the amino acid substitutions between mouse and human K17 are conservative in nature, and four of them render mouse K17 identical to human K14 (see residues marked by # in Fig. 4). This exceptionally high degree of sequence relatedness between mouse and human K17 suggests, when interpreted in light of their highly conserved regulation (see below), that a K17 ancestral gene was present before the divergence of these species during evolution, and that the function(s) of the protein is conserved.
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As pointed out for the human sequences (Troyanovsky
et al., 1992), mouse K17 is more related to K14 (73% identity) than to K16 (66% identity), due primarily to a better
conservation of the tail domains in K17 and K14 (Fig. 3).
In addition, the central rod domain of mouse K17 is more
related to that of human K14 (88% identity) than to human K16 (81% identity). We recently showed that unlike
K16, human K14 and K17 are capable of forming very stable heterotetramers with a variety of type II keratin partners, including K5, K6, and K8 (Wawersik et al., 1997
).
Expression of K17 in Intact and Wounded Adult Mouse Trunk Skin
The commercially available antiserum against K17 (monoclonal; Sigma Chemical Co.) has a low titer and does not react with mouse K17 (our unpublished data). This prompted us to produce a polyclonal antiserum in rabbits using a hapten-conjugated 11-mer peptide that is perfectly conserved at the COOH terminus of human and mouse K17, and which is distinct from the related K14 sequence (Fig. 3). When used for Western blotting at a high dilution (1:10,000), the rabbit antiserum does not react with K14 and K16, but reacts strongly with purified recombinant human K17 (Fig. 4 A). In total insoluble proteins extracted from mouse trunk skin, the rabbit antiserum recognizes a single antigen with an apparent Mr of 48 kD (Fig. 4 B) which comigrates with human K17 under standard gel buffer conditions (Fig. 4). This reactivity is not seen with the preimmune serum from the same rabbit, and can be successfully competed out with the free peptide used in the production of the antiserum (data not shown). These data establish that we produced a high-titer antiserum that is monospecific for K17, and confirms that the mouse and human K17 proteins do not differ significantly in their apparent Mr by conventional gel electrophoresis.
When applied on sections of adult mouse trunk skin (Fig. 5), the K17 antiserum reacts strongly with hair follicles (Fig. 5, A and B) and sweat glands (data not shown), but not with normal interfollicular epidermis. In hair follicles, the entire outer root sheat (ORS) is immunostained, whether the follicle is actively growing (anagen phase; Fig. 5, A and B) or resting (data not shown). Most, if not all, ORS keratinocytes are positively stained for K17, unlike K6, whose protein distribution is restricted to the innermost ORS layers (Fig. 5, compare panels C, D, and E). Although the difference in K6 and K17 distribution is best seen in the context of larger hair follicles, such as those presented in Fig. 5, it applies for all hair types (see Fig. 11, showing longitudinally sectioned pelage hair). Similar findings were obtained in human skin samples (data not shown).
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Close examination of the hair bulb area revealed the
consistent presence of faint immunostaining for K17 in the
matrix cells and stronger staining in the early differentiating hair epithelial cells (trichocytes) (Fig. 5, F-H). The signal is lost in the upper segments of the hair (data not
shown), owing probably to epitope masking. Such immunostaining for K17 occurs in all types of hair follicles, and its
specificity is supported by control experiments involving
the use of preimmune serum or the addition of the peptide immunogen to the anti-K17 serum (data not shown). Reexamination of in situ hybridization data (Carroll et al.,
1997), which made use of a probe corresponding to the 3'
portion of the K17 mRNA, revealed the presence of K17
transcripts in the early differentiating trichocytes of vibrissae (Fig. 5 I) and pelage hair follicles (data not shown). A
similar outcome was observed in a previous report by Panteleyev et al. (1997)
, but these authors attributed their results to the presence of melanin granules. We have observed this same pattern of immunostaining using samples
obtained from unpigmented mice. Furthermore, immunoreactivity for K17 can be observed in Western blots
analysis of protein extracts prepared from mouse hair clippings (the lack of K14 in such extracts confirms the absence of ORS contamination; data not shown). Finally, we can detect reporter transgene activity in trichocytes in the
context of studies involving the 5' upstream sequence of
the mouse K17 gene (McGowan, K.M., and P.A. Coulombe, unpublished observations). Our ability to detect
K17 protein in trichocytes, an occurrence that has never
been reported before, may be primarily the result of the
high titer and specificity displayed by our polyclonal antiserum.
We previously showed, using the commercially available
monoclonal antibody (Sigma Chemical Co.), that K17 is
induced at the wound edge starting 12 h after acute injury
to human epidermis (Paladini et al., 1996). Likewise,
Knapp et al. (1987)
showed that a mouse type I keratin
mRNA, which later on was identified as K17 (see Troyanovsky et al., 1992
; Schweizer, 1993
), is induced in skin
wounds. Application of our novel antiserum to sections of
adult mouse wounded skin showed that K17 is already induced by 8 h after acute injury (Fig. 5, E and F). In older
wounds, K17 synthesis extends distally from the cut edge
of the wound and is particularly strong in the migrating
epidermal tissue, where it occurs in all epidermal layers
(Fig. 5, G and H; 48 h after injury). The epidermal staining
for K17 eventually disappears after wound closure (data
not shown). These data establish that, as was found to be
the case for K6 and K16 in human skin (Paladini et al.,
1996
), K17 is an early marker of the process of keratinocyte activation after injury and is expressed in the migrating epithelium.
Onset of K17 Expression Occurs Early in Developing Mouse Skin
Until ~e9.5 d, the single-layered ectoderm covering the
surface of the embryo expresses the keratins 8 and 18 typical of simple epithelia (Jackson et al., 1981). The earliest
molecular indices of epidermal gene expression, starting at
~e9.5 d, occur in the form of the transcription factor AP2
and its target genes K5 and K14. Byrne et al. (1994)
showed that onset of expression of these genes takes place
according to a complex spatiotemporal pattern that does
not correlate with the initial stratification of the ectoderm.
In agreement with previous reports (Jackson et al., 1981
;
Thorey et al., 1993
), we find that e9.5-d ectoderm stains uniformly with an antiserum directed against K8/K18 but
sporadically with antisera directed against K14 (data not
shown). At e10.5 d, expression of K14 has generalized to a
significant portion of the surface ectoderm. These data establish the validity of our antibody tools. We performed
triple-staining studies that include the DNA stain Hoechst
to analyze the context in which K17 expression is initiated
in the early stages of skin morphogenesis. These studies
made use of saggital sections of whole e12.5-d embryos, as
these feature areas with single layered ectoderm (e.g., upper dorsum), two-layered ectoderm (e.g., lower dorsum),
and stratified epithelium (e.g., ventral surface).
We find that induction of K17 expression takes place in
cells that express both K8-K18 and K14. The induction is
independent of stratification of the epithelium, as it is seen
in single-layered ectoderm (Fig. 6, A-F), in the bottom
layer of two-layered epithelium (Fig. 6, G and H), in the
top layer of the stratified epithelium on the ventral surface
of the embryo (Fig. 6, I and J). In favorable sections, the
filamentous nature of the K17 staining can clearly be seen
at higher magnification (Fig. 6 K). As previously reported (Greer and Roop, 1991; Byrne et al., 1994
), no expression
of K10 can be detected in sections prepared from e12.5-d
embryos (data not shown). These data establish that K17
protein synthesis occurs shortly after the onset of K14 expression, before the onset of epithelial differentiation-specific gene expression.
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Onset of K17 Expression Reflects the Adoption of a Nonepidermal Cell Fate in Embryonic Skin
As mentioned above, we observe very patchy expression
of the K17 gene in the ectoderm of the upper dorsum region of e10.5-d embryos (Fig. 7 A). Examination of sections prepared from several embryos suggest a periodicity
in the distribution of K17, in that clusters of one to three
positively stained cells occur at regularly spaced intervals
along the dorsal surface of the embryo. This staining pattern is more firmly established at e12.5 d (Fig. 7 B). Between e12.5 and e14.5 d, the two-layer ectoderm further stratifies to give rise to embryonic epidermis over most of
the embryo surface, whereas the first signs of hair follicle
induction occur in the form of an invagination of small
groups of epithelial cells into the underlying mesenchyme.
We find that the placodes and the proximal epithelial tissue are both strongly immunostained for K17 (Fig. 7, C, D,
and E show various stages of placode formation in e14.5-d
epidermis). Continued downward expansion of the placodes gives rise to primary hair germs, starting at e14.5 d
and well established by e16.5 d (Mann, 1962; Hardy and
Vielkind, 1996
). The strong expression of K17 persists in
the primary hair germs at e14.5 d (Fig. 7 F) and e16.5 d
(Fig. 7 G), and examination of sections from several embryos shows that the majority of the epithelial cells in primary hair germs are K17 positive. Collectively, our data
suggest that the precursors of pelage and vibrissae hair follicles arise from small clusters of K17-positive ectoderm
that first appear in the undifferentiated ectoderm of e10.5
and e12.5 mouse embryos.
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Another ectodermal cell type that is uniformly and consistently immunopositive when stained with anti-K17 is
the periderm. As is the case of K6 (see below), the periderm staining begins at e14.5 d (Fig. 7, C-F) and extends
(Fig. 7 G, e16.5-d sample) until this layer is lost from the
surface of the embryos shortly before birth (Fisher, 1994).
The embryonic epidermis is mostly negative for K17,
with the exception of a transient expression in the basal
layer starting at e14.5 (Fig. 7 F) and peaking at e16.5 d
(Fig. 7 G). This finding is rather intriguing, as differentiation specific gene expression is already ongoing in the embryonic epidermis during this period (data not shown)
(Dale et al., 1985; Greer and Roop, 1991
; Byrne et al.,
1994
). This expression has already begun to recede towards developing hair follicles by e18.5 d and is further restricted to the neck of hair follicles openings in dorsal
trunk skin of newborn mice (Fig. 7 H).
K17 Expression Is Partially Uncoupled from That of K6 in Embryonic Skin
We examined the expression of K6 in our collection of embryo specimens using a newly produced rabbit polyclonal
antiserum (refer to Materials and Methods). This type II
keratin is coregulated with K17 in wound edge epidermis
after injury to human and mouse adult skin (Paladini et al.,
1996; Takahashi et al., 1997, 1998), and is presumed to be
the type II pairing partner for K17 in several stratified epithelia (e.g., O'Guin et al., 1990
). In e12.5-d embryos, a
strong staining for K6 protein occurs in the oral mucosa
whereas the surface ectoderm is negative (data not shown).
In e14.5-d embryos, K6 immunoreactivity occurs the innermost aspect of the developing vibrissae follicles (Fig. 8
A) and in the periderm layer, which is uniformly stained
(Fig. 8, A and B). Similarly to K17, the periderm staining
for K6 persists (Fig. 8 C) until the loss of this layer before
birth (data not shown). In contrast to K17, however, we
detect K6 immunoreactivity at a relatively late stage of
pelage hair follicle development (e16.5 d), where it is restricted to a subset of epithelial cells (Fig. 8 C). This pattern is maintained in e18.5-d embryos and newborn mouse
skin (data not shown). Consistent with previous reports
situating the onset of hair-specific keratin gene expression
at e14.5-e15.5 d (Zhou et al., 1995
), onset of K6 expression
appears to coincide with the beginning of differentiation in
developing hair follicles. These data establish that with the
notable exception of the entire periderm and a small subset of hair epithelial cells (see Discussion), K17 expression
is largely uncoupled from that of K6 in developing skin.
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Expression of K17 Coincides with That of the Transcription Factor lef-1 during Skin Development
The epithelial placodes that serve as precursors of hair follicles and other appendages form directly above condensates of specialized mesenchymal cells with inductive
properties (Sakakura et al., 1976; Kollar et al., 1983;
Hardy, 1992
; Jowett et al., 1993
). Lef-1, a protein that belongs to the HMG box family of transcription factors
(Clevers and Grosscheld, 1996), is known to play a critical
role in the epithelial-mesenchymal interactions that underlie appendageal morphogenesis. Lef-1 is expressed in the cell condensates that form at sites of future hair follicle formation (e.g., Zhou et al., 1995
; Kratochwil, 1996), and
mice harboring a null mutation in their lef-1 gene show a
significantly reduced number of hair follicles, a failure to
form teeth and mammary glands, and die shortly after
birth (van Genderen et al., 1994
). Given this, we decided
to relate the expression of K17 to that of lef-1 in our collection of mouse embryo sections.
Immunostainings for lef-1 performed on frozen sections
prepared from e12.5-, e14.5-, and e16.5-d mouse embryos
confirmed the elegant whole mount in situ hybridization
findings reported by Zhou et al. (1995). The lef-1 protein
staining is predominantly nuclear, as expected for a transcription factor, and is initially manifested in and around
epithelial placodes (Fig. 9, A and B; e14.5-d embryo dorsum). The presence of lef-1 in both the epithelial cells
forming the placode and in proximal mesenchymal cells is consistent with its role in epithelial-mesenchymal interactions (Kratochwil et al., 1996
). These sites of epithelial-
mesenchymal interactions, as identified by lef-1 protein
stainings, also display a strong signal for K17 (Fig. 9, A and
B). A survey of samples obtained from dual-staining experiments of e14.5-d embryos show that the spatial correspondence between the signals for K17 and lef-1 proteins
is striking. This is well illustrated in the context of double-staining experiments (hair placode shown in Fig. 9, C and
D) and staining of consecutive frozen sections (vibrissae shown in Fig. 9, E and F). As hair placodes evolve into primary hair germs, e.g., in e16.5-d embryos, the spatial correspondence between the two signals persists only at the
tip region near the mesenchyme (data not shown). In addition, the basal layer of e16.5-d interfollicular epidermis is
clearly positive for both K17 and lef-1 proteins (Fig. 9, B
and C). In contrast to K17, however, we could not detect a
convincing signal for lef-1 in the periderm layer at any
stage of its formation. In newborn skin, the signal for lef-1
is mostly restricted to the actively growing (bulb) segment
of the follicles, as previously reported (Zhou et al., 1995
),
whereas K17 is distributed throughout the outer root
sheath and occurs in proximal epidermis as well (refer to
Fig. 7 H). Thus, it would appear that lef-1 protein is not
synthesized in differentiating epithelial cells of embryonic
mouse skin.
|
Keratin 17 is expressed in several mature epithelia whose development is known to depend on epithelial- mesenchymal interactions mediated by lef-1. These include vibrissae, salivary glands, tooth, and thymus (Fig. 10, A-D, respectively). To further probe the relationship between K17 and lef-1 expression, we examined these tissues in e14.5-d mouse embryos. Again, we detected K17 immunoreactivity at an early step in the morphogenesis of these tissues (Fig. 10, A'-D'). Collectively, these findings establish that the K17 gene is expressed in a number of developing tissues whose formation partly depend upon lef-1.
|
Ectopic Expression of lef-1 Correlates with K17 Induction in the Epidermis of Adult Transgenic Mice
The intriguing correspondence between the timing and location of lef-1 protein synthesis, a transcription factor allegedly involved in the regulation of hair-specific keratin
genes, and K17, a component of the pilosebaceous apparatus, raises the possibility that the former may contribute to
regulate the latter during early skin morphogenesis. In
support of this possibility, inspection of the 5' upstream sequence of the mouse K17 gene reveals the presence, in
three distinct locations, of a nucleotide sequence motif, 5'-CTTTGWW-3', which fits perfectly the consensus DNA
binding site for lef-1 (Powell et al., 1991; Clevers and
Grosscheld, 1996). A perfect consensus binding site for
lef-1 occurs in the third intron of the human K17 gene
(GenBank/EMBL/DDBJ accession number Z19574) (Troyanovsky et al., 1992
). Such lef-1 consensus binding sites occur in the 5' upstream regulatory region of all the hair follicle-specific genes examined so far, and can mediate the
transactivation of a reporter gene in a lef-1-dependent
manner in an heterologous expression assay ex vivo (Zhou
et al., 1995
). Based on these findings we examined the expression of K17 in two mouse models in which lef-1 expression has been genetically manipulated: mice that ectopically overexpress lef-1 in epidermis via a keratin 14 gene promoter (Zhou et al., 1995
), and mice harboring a
null mutation for lef-1 (van Genderen et al., 1994
).
Transgenic mice that express lef-1 under the control of
the K14 gene promoter show the presence of lef-1 in the
basal layer of epidermis, oral mucosa, and a few other
stratified epithelia. These mice feature an abnormal patterning of hair follicles over their trunk, and consistent
with the postulated role for lef-1 in appendageal morphogenesis (van Genderen et al., 1994), they show ectopic appendages in the oral mucosa (Zhou et al., 1995
). Paraffin-embedded skin samples from 11-d-old transgenic pups and controls were provided by E. Fuchs. The epidermis of
these mice display a normal morphology and distribution
of key markers of terminal differentiation, such as K10
and filaggrin (data not shown) (Zhou et al., 1995
). Additionally, the interfollicular epidermis does not stain positively for K6 (Fig. 11 B), a marker for abnormal proliferation that is coregulated with K17 after various acute
challenges to the skin (Takahashi et al., 1997; 1998). Yet,
unlike the situation in control (Fig. 11 A), a significant fraction of basal cells in interfollicular epidermis express
K17 in lef-1 transgenic tissue (Fig. 11, C and D). The specificity of this induction and the absence of any other detectable changes in the properties of progenitor basal keratinocytes in the mature epidermis of [K14 promoter] lef-1
mice supports the possibility that lef-1 may be involved in
aspects of K17 expression at an early stage of appendageal
morphogenesis.
Transgenic mice that harbor a null mutation in the lef-1
gene feature a significantly reduced number of hair follicles that are reportedly shorter and delayed in their maturation (van Genderen et al., 1994). We found that the hair
follicle profiles present show positive immunostaining for
K17 in the ORS, however these samples lacked hair shafts
(data not shown). Whether these follicles form as a result
of functional redundancy with other related transcription factors in lef-1-null mice, or whether lef-1 preferentially
impacts on the formation of a specific type of hair follicle,
remains unclear at present. From this we conclude that lef-1
expression is not essential for the morphogenesis of all
pelage hairs or for the expression of K17 in the ORS.
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Discussion |
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K17 and the Onset of Epithelial Differentiation during Skin Development
Essential to understanding the mechanisms that underlie
the developmental choices that occur during mammalian
organogenesis is the identification of the stages at which
commitment to various cell lineages and subsequent differentiation occur. The embryonic epidermis represents an
excellent system for such studies as it differentiates and
expands from a single-layered embryonic ectoderm to
form a stratified squamous epithelium. Concomitantly,
cells from within this tissue undergo separate programs of
differentiation to form epidermally derived appendages
like hair, nail, teeth, and glands. The monitoring of epidermal and hair-specific keratin gene expression has significantly contributed to our current understanding of these
processes (Dale et al., 1985; Kopan and Fuchs, 1989
; Greer
and Roop, 1991
; Byrne et al., 1994
). We surmised that
given their constitutive expression in various appendages
and their rapid induction after acute injury, the nonepidermal keratin genes K6 and K17 may provide additional insights into skin development. We found that expression of
K17 is initiated in the undifferentiated ectoderm at the single- or two-layer stage, starting in e10.5-d mouse embryos.
The spatiotemporal pattern of K6 expression is different,
and coincides with the onset of expression of several differentiation-specific markers at a later time (see below). Our data point to the intriguing possibility that onset of
K17 expression in the embryonic ectoderm reflects a commitment towards distinct epithelial lineages, and prompt
us to propose a revised model for skin development as
shown in Fig. 12.
|
In this model, the morphogenesis of the major types of skin epithelia is segmented into four distinct yet logically interconnected phases, which can be described as follows:
Phase 1. Commitment to Form a Complex Epithelium.Up to ~e9.5 d, the single-layered ectoderm covering the
embryo is undifferentiated and expresses the keratins
characteristic of simple epithelia, K8, and K18 (Jackson et
al., 1981; Thorey et al., 1993
). We propose that the onset of
transcription factor AP-2 expression, soon followed by that
of its target genes K5 and K14 (Byrne et al., 1994
), reflects
a commitment towards the formation of a complex epithelium. Of note, K5 and K14 (along with variable levels of
K15) are the only keratins that are expressed in all the
complex (soft) epithelia in the adult, where they typically occur in the least differentiated progenitor cells (Moll et
al., 1982
; O'Guin et al., 1990
).
We propose that onset of K17 expression in a subpopulation of
the K5-K14- and K8-K18-expressing embryonic ectodermal cells, which occurs in the e10.5 -e12.5-d time window,
signifies a commitment to form a nonepidermal tissue such
as a hair follicle, a gland, or the periderm. This commitment is the result of a set of specific molecular instructions
(e.g., lef-1-mediated epithelio-mesenchymal interactions)
that do not take place in epidermal precursors, which represents the default pathway (Kopan and Fuchs, 1989). We
have demonstrated that onset of K17 expression may occur within the single-layer embryonic ectoderm, or in the
lower or upper layer of the two-layer ectoderm (depending on the region of the embryo), in cells that are mitotically active (this study; Byrne et al., 1994
). These data extend the work of Byrne and colleagues (1994), who
observed that the initial stratification of the ectoderm does
not correspond to a polarization or differentiation event. Moreover, our temporal assignment for this phase is in
complete agreement with the results obtained by Sanes
and coworkers (1986), who used retrovirally marked cells
to determine the genealogy of the various cell types in several mouse tissues. Their study showed that commitment
to peridermal and follicular cell fates occurs at ~e11 d, but
that before this all ectodermal cells maintain pluripotentiality.
For a period of ~48 hours that extends from the onset of K17 gene expression to that of differentiation-specific genes, there is a significant increase in epithelial cell number without molecular indices of terminal differentiation (see below). We propose that this period corresponds to an expansion of relatively undifferentiated cell pools within each of the major epithelial lineages. Obviously, additional studies are required to examine gene expression during this poorly-defined phase.
Phase 4. Onset of Lineage-specific Epithelial Differentiation.Several differentiation-related genes are first expressed starting at e13.5-e15.5 d, such as K1-K10 (this
study; Byrne et al., 1994), filaggrin, and loricrin (Byrne et
al., 1994
; Greer and Roop, 1991
) in epidermis, and hard
keratin genes (Byrne et al., 1994
) as well as K6 (this study)
in hair follicles. In all these instances, expression of the
marker occurs in a subset of cells within the maturing epithelium, reflecting a polarization in the developing tissue.
Consequently, this phase represents the last one in our
model for the morphogenesis of skin epithelia, as it corresponds to the onset of terminal differentiation.
Although the four steps described occur sequentially for any individual element (e.g., a single hair follicle), it must be realized, as alluded to in the results section, that they are not synchronized over the entire skin tissue, since development proceeds according to spatial and temporal gradients.
K17 Is a Candidate Target Gene for Regulation by Lef-1
Considerable progress has been made towards identifying
the mechanisms and molecules that mediate the reciprocal, inductive interactions between mesenchymal and epithelial tissues that play an integral role in hair follicle morphogenesis. One such molecule is the lymphoid enhancer
factor, lef-1 (van Genderen et al., 1994; Zhou et al., 1995
;
Clevers and Grosschedl, 1996
). Lef-1 is a transcription factor capable of bending DNA, a property that is thought to
influence gene transcription by facilitating the association
of other transcription factors (for review see Clevers and
Grosschedl, 1996
). Targeted inactivation of the lef-1 gene
produced major alterations in epithelial tissues that share
a dependency upon epithelial-mesenchymal interactions for proper morphogenesis (van Genderen et al., 1994
).
The spatiotemporal pattern of K17 expression during development suggest strongly that this keratin gene may be
regulated by signals generated in the context of such epithelio-mesenchymal interactions, possibly lef-1.
We presented several lines of evidence that support this
notion. First, we have shown a temporal and spatial correspondence between K17 and lef-1 protein synthesis in hair
placodes. Second, we have presented data depicting K17
protein synthesis during the formation of other lef-1 target
organs. Third, we provide convincing evidence that K17 is
expressed in precursor matrix epithelial cells and early differentiating trichocytes of fully formed hair follicles. These
cells give rise to the structures of the hair, and the programs of gene expression associated with these include
several hard keratin genes postulated to be directly regulated by lef-1. To our knowledge, K17 represents the first instance of a keratin gene expressed in both hard and soft
epithelial tissues. Fourth, there are three consensus binding sites for lef-1 in the mouse K17 gene, and at least one
in the human K17 gene (the full 5' upstream sequence of
this gene is not yet available). These consensus sites are
identical to those found in hair keratin genes (Powell et
al., 1991, 1992), where they have been found to mediate a
direct transactivation (Zhou et al., 1995
). Fifth and finally,
we found that K17 protein is synthesized in the epidermal basal layer of transgenic mice that ectopically express lef-1 under the control of the K14 promoter.
The connection between K17 and lef-1 expression is important when one considers the delay between the expression of lef-1, which begins at ~e11 d (Zhou et al., 1995;
Kratochwil et al., 1996
), and the subsequent induction of
hair keratin genes at ~e14.5-15.5 d. The potential relationship between lef-1 expression and K17 upregulation
could provide a critical molecular link between the expression of this transcription factor and the actual commitment to undergo appendageal organogenesis. The location of
binding sites for lef-1 is different in the K17 and the hair-specific keratin genes (data not shown). This may represent an important determinant for the manner with which
lef-1, being an architectural transcription factor, impacts
on the expression of these keratin genes during development. Studies are in progress to test whether lef-1 can directly transactivate the K17 gene promoter.
K17, Wound Healing, and Epidermal Development
Together with our previous work (Paladini et al., 1996; Takahashi et al., 1997, 1998), the studies reported here establish that K6, K16, and K17 proteins are all induced in epidermis at the proximal edge of the wound within hours
after acute injury to mouse and human skin. The K17 specific antisera used for this study allows us to modify our
early studies, in that it appears that the induction of K6,
K16, and K17 genes occurs on the same time scale. At
least early on, this induction occurs in suprabasal keratinocytes, i.e., in cells that have already begun to differentiate. Thereafter, expression of K6, K16, and K17 spreads
distally from the cut edge of the wound, is maintained in
keratinocytes that are migrating into the wound site, and
ceases upon the completion of reepithelialization. The significance of this phenomenon, and the precise contribution of K6, K16, and K17, remain to be ascertained. Schermer and colleagues (1989) proposed the interesting
idea that this induction may reflect a switch to an alternative, possibly more primitive mode of epithelial differentiation. From previous work we postulated that these keratins, K16 in particular, may contribute to promote the
cytoarchitectural changes that are typical of keratinocyte
activation (Paladini et al., 1997; McGowan et al., 1998). In
this regard, the data we report here have an impact at two
distinct levels. First, the notion that K17 is synthesized in
soft and hard epithelial cells and that this protein is a major component of regenerating epithelia is an intriguing
one. We have preliminary data further supporting this
concept that involve studies with the WE6 antigen, which
is wound inducible in the surface epithelium of the newt
and frogs (Estrada et al., 1993
) and corresponds to a type I
keratin (Klatt, K., and R. Tassava, personal communication). We detect WE6 immunoreactivity in the early differentiating cells of hard epithelia in the mouse such as
hair, nail, and filiform papillae of the tongue (Coulombe, P.A., unpublished observations). Additional studies are
required to further explore the notion that K17, and possibly other wound repair-associated keratins, could perform
a key function in both soft and hard epithelia under resting
conditions. Second, our findings argue that the program of
gene expression characteristic of wound-activated adult
keratinocyte (for review see Coulombe, 1997
) may bear a
relationship to that executed by epithelial cells at specific
stages of embryonic development, before expression of
true differentiation-specific genes. The existence of such a
molecular relationship between embryonic development
and adult tissue regeneration has already been evidenced
in other tissues, liver in particular (Michapoulos, 1997).
The event that most convincingly links embryonic development and wound repair in skin epithelia is the abundant
expression of K17 in developing hair placodes. In this case
as in adult skin wounds, a group of K17-expressing keratinocytes coordinately expands or migrates into a connective tissue, suggesting that expression of this particular
keratin may be a molecular trait of keratinocytes involved
in migration or tissue expansion. Additional lines of evidence support this contention. Appendages have long
been known to contribute keratinocytes to the resurfacing
of wound sites in adult skin, especially in cases involving
partial thickness wounds (Clark, 1993), and we find that
K17 expression is upregulated in the ORS of hair follicles
located proximal to the wound site (data not shown).
Moreover, experimental evidence has recently been provided for a similar phenomenon involving epithelial cells originating from eccrine sweat glands (Miller et al., 1998
).
An exciting possibility is that the cell type involved in this
case would be the myoepithelial cells, which express K17
constitutively (see below).
In terms of keratin gene expression profile, however,
the periderm appears to better mimic the activated keratinocyte of adult skin wounds. In developing skin, indeed,
uniform and abundant co-expression of K6 and K17 occurs only in the periderm. The function of the periderm remains a mystery (Fisher, 1994). Periderm has been suggested to emanate from sites of epithelio-mesenchymal interactions (M'Boneko and Merker, 1988
). The morphological changes taking place as it emerges (M'Boneko and
Merker, 1988
) bear a striking resemblance to activated keratinocytes at the edge of adult skin wounds (Paladini et
al., 1996
). An open question is whether K17 induction in
the periderm is a byproduct of the inductive interactions
that lead to appendage formation or whether it represents a critical event in the morphogenesis of this poorly understood cell type. The degree to which the molecular relationship between periderm and the wound-activated adult
skin keratinocyte extends beyond keratin gene expression
deserves further investigation.
Other than hair placodes and periderm, K17 is expressed transiently but uniformly in the basal layer of embryonic epidermis ~e16.5 d. By that time, the developing
epidermis already features a mature character as judged
by various markers of adult epidermis (Fuchs and Byrne,
1994). This aspect of embryonic K17 expression is of significance, as it provides further support to the notion that
K17 expression in epidermis is compatible with mitosis
and not a manifestation of advanced differentiation. This
finding raises several questions, however, including the
fate adopted by these embryonic basal cells, and the mechanism(s) responsible for spatially restricting the expression of this gene to the postmitotic layers in adult epidermis subjected to injury and other forms of challenge (as
discussed above).
At another level, our findings may have significant implications with regard to a recent study of perfect wound
healing in K8-null embryos (Brock et al., 1996). These
studies concluded, on the basis that reepithelialization is
not altered in K8-null embryos, that keratin IFs are not an
integral part of the fetal wound repair process. We would
assert that one must look beyond the K8-K18 network, as
these filaments may not play a substantial role once the
skin-specific keratins have begun to accumulate. It may be
possible that the keratins already present at e11.5 d, which
at least include K5, K14, and K17, are sufficient to bring
about wound closure. We are currently exploring the
possibility that the wound repair keratins K6, K16, and
K17 may be expressed during reepithelialization of fetal
wounds.
Speculation on the Function of K17
A fundamental question in the field of keratin filament biology is why there exists so many homologous proteins. By virtue of its primary sequence, K17 belongs to a subgroup of type I keratin genes that includes K14 and K16. A comparison of their amino acid sequences reveals that individual substitutions tend to be grouped within defined segments of these proteins. Thus, the NH2-terminal head domains of K14 and K16 are clearly more related to one another than either is to K17. Conversely, homology within the COOH-terminal tail domain is greatest between K14 and K16 for the proximal half segment, while being greatest for K14 and K17 for the distal half segment. It is unclear how these variations result in functional differences between these type I keratins. What is known is that human K16 can not entirely complement the phenotype associate with a K14-null mutation in transgenic mice, a behavior that we could map to the COOH-terminal 105 amino acids (Paladini, R.D., and P.A. Coulombe, unpublished data).
Our findings point to a dual function for K17 that may
help to explain the phenotype and ultrastructural pathology characteristic of pachyonychia congenita and steatocystoma multiplex, two clinical disorders that can arise
from missense mutations affecting the primary sequence
of K17 (McLean et al., 1995; Smith et al., 1997
). On the
one hand, the occurrence of cytolysis in at least some K17
mutant-expressing epithelia (McLean et al., 1995
) is consistent with a structural role akin to that already defined
for other keratin proteins. It is possible that the synthesis
of K17 protein in the hair matrix and lower portions of the
hair shaft impacts the formation of this structure and
would explain the presence of twisted hairs (pili torti) in
PC patients. On the other hand, our description of the developmental expression of K17, especially during odontogenesis and gland formation, may explain the linkage between K17 mutation the occurrence of developmental
anomalies such as those characterizing the eyebrow, sweat
glands, and teeth (Munro et al., 1994
; McLean et al., 1995
).
This would render K17 unique among the keratin genes so
far linked to inherited diseases by suggesting a function for
this protein during the morphogenesis of these tissues.
The context and subcellular distribution of a given protein can also convey hints about its function. Many of the
epithelial cell types expressing K17, whether normal or activated, show contractile or motile activity. An example of
this are the myoepithelial cells of glandular tissues, whose
cytoplasm displays arrays of actin and myosin filaments
organized in a sarcomere-like fashion (Raubenheimer, 1987; Redman, 1994
). Contraction of these star-shaped
myoepithelial cells, whose long cytoplasmic projections
envelop the lumenal tissue, is thought to supply the force
needed for propelling the glandular contents into the ducts
(Raubenheimer, 1987
; Redman, 1994
). Interestingly, as
stated for the periderm epithelium above, myoepithelial
cells resemble activated keratinocytes proximal to the
wound edge (Paladini et al., 1996
) in many respects. Thus it would appear K17-expressing epithelial cells often feature a prominent actin-based molecular machinery. Although this relationship remains to be established, recent
work would suggest that such cross-talk between filament
networks, as mediated by linker proteins like plectin
(Wiche, 1989
) and BPAG (Yang et al., 1996
), is not only
possible but essential (Bousquet and Coulombe, 1996
).
This raises the possibility that K17 containing intermediate filament networks possess unique properties that render them capable of making such connections.
![]() |
Footnotes |
---|
Received for publication 26 May 1998 and in revised form 4 September 1998.
P.A. Coulombe was the recipient of Junior Faculty Research Award
from the American Cancer Society (A-76019). K. McGowan was supported by NRSA fellowship (CA-67513) from the National Cancer Institute. This work was supported by a National Institutes of Health grant to
P.A. Coulombe (AR-44232).
Address all correspondence to P.A. Coulombe, Department of Biological
Chemistry, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 725 N. Wolfe St., Baltimore, MD 21205. Tel.: (410) 614-0510. Fax: (410) 955-5759. E-mail: coulombe{at}jhmi.edu
We are grateful to members of the Coulombe laboratory for their advice and support, and wish to extend a very special thank you to E. Fuchs and R. Grosscheld for their generous gift of transgenic mouse tissues and antibodies; to J. Carroll (Genetics Institute, Andover, MA), for sharing in situ hybridization data; to R. Tassava (Ohio State University, Columbus, OH) and K. Klatt (Denison University, Granville, OH) for helpful discussions; and G. Rogers (University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia), for advice on hair protein extraction. We also thank I. Leigh (Imperial Cancer Research Foundation, London, UK) for providing the LL001 antibody.
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Abbreviations used in this paper |
---|
e, embryonic day; IF, intermediate filament; K, keratin; ORS, outer root sheat; RT, reverse transcriptase.
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References |
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