Distribution of Caspase-14 in Epidermis and Hair Follicles Is Evolutionarily Conserved Among Mammals

September 2005 in “ The anatomical record. Part A, Discoveries in molecular, cellular, and evolutionary biology/Anatomical record. Part A, Discoveries in molecular, cellular, and evolutionary biology ”

Lorenzo Alibardi, Erwin Tschachler, Leopold Eckhart

caspase-14 epidermis hair follicles keratin bundles keratohyalin granules keratinocytes stratum corneum

Studysummary This study reports that caspase-14's expression pattern in the epidermis and hair follicles is highly conserved across diverse mammalian species, suggesting its early evolutionary role in mammalian skin maturation.

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The study investigated the evolutionary role of caspase-14 in the epidermis and hair follicles across various mammalian species, including placental mammals, marsupials, and monotremes. Immunocytochemical staining and ultrastructural analysis revealed that caspase-14 was consistently expressed in the granular and corneous layers of the epidermis and in specific layers of hair follicles in all species examined. The enzyme was associated with keratin bundles, keratohyalin granules, and nuclei of transitional cells, suggesting its involvement in the terminal differentiation of keratinocytes and the formation of the stratum corneum. The conserved expression pattern across diverse mammals indicates that caspase-14 plays a crucial role in a molecular process essential to mammalian skin evolution.

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