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

TLDR Caspase-14 is important for skin and hair development in all mammals.

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

Research cited in this study

research Comparative Aspects of the Inner Root Sheath in Adult and Developing Hairs of Mammals in Relation to the Evolution of Hairs

research Fine Structure and Immunocytochemistry of Monotreme Hairs, with Emphasis on the Inner Root Sheath and Trichohyalin-Based Cornification During Hair Evolution

research Fine Structure of Marsupial Hairs, with Emphasis on Trichohyalin and the Structure of the Inner Root Sheath

research Hair Follicle Differentiation And Regulation

research Molecular Biology of Hair Morphogenesis: Development and Cycling

research Distribution of Keratin and Associated Proteins in the Epidermis of Monotreme, Marsupial, and Placental Mammals

research Epithelial Barrier Function: Assembly and Structural Features of the Cornified Cell Envelope

research A Novel Epithelial Keratin, hK6irs1, Is Expressed Differentially in All Layers of the Inner Root Sheath, Including Specialized Huxley Cells of the Human Hair Follicle

research Molecular Mechanisms Regulating Hair Follicle Development

research Hair Follicle Companion Layer: Reacquainting an Old Friend

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research The Cytology and Cytochemistry of the Wool Follicle

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