Progress Report on Hair Keratin Research

The progress report on hair keratin research highlighted significant advancements in understanding hair keratin structures and expressions. Kon et al. developed a new method for solubilizing and fractionating hair proteins, revealing a decrease in intact microfibril keratin at the tips of permed hair. Langbein et al. challenged previous beliefs by identifying nine type I and six type II hair keratins, creating a comprehensive catalogue of human hair keratins. They also provided a schematic summary of RNA expression profiles for these keratins, showing complex expression patterns in hair follicles. Additionally, their mRNA expression studies suggested that hair cuticle cells contain four different hair keratins, contrary to the earlier belief that keratins were exclusive to microfibrils in the cortex.