Exploiting the Keratin 17 Gene Promoter to Visualize Live Cells in Epithelial Appendages of Mice

July 2005 in “ Molecular and Cellular Biology ”

Nicholas Bianchi, Daryle J. DePianto, Kevin McGowan, Changhong Gu, Pierre A. Coulombe

keratin 17 green fluorescent protein GFP hair follicles hairless mutation sonic hedgehog signaling K17 regulation epithelial appendages

TLDR A specific gene segment can make mouse skin cells glow, helping study hair growth and gene effects.

The study demonstrated that a 2-kilobase upstream region of the mouse keratin 17 gene (mK17) could drive the expression of green fluorescent protein (GFP) in the epithelial appendages of transgenic mice. This expression was observed to coincide with the development of ectoderm-derived epithelial appendages during embryonic development and was appropriately regulated in adult mice's hair, nails, glands, and oral papilla. The GFP fluorescence allowed researchers to visualize changes in hair follicles related to growth cycles and defects caused by the hairless mutation in live skin tissue. The study also found that deleting a 48-bp interval containing a Gli-responsive element from the promoter led to a loss of GFP fluorescence in most appendages, indicating the involvement of sonic hedgehog in K17 regulation. This research provided a new tool for targeted gene expression and manipulation in transgenic mice.

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