A Kaleidoscope of Keratin Gene Expression and the Mosaic of Its Regulatory Mechanisms

Keratins are specialized proteins found in epithelial cells, and their expression is a key characteristic of different types of epithelia, reflecting the cell's type, location, differentiation potential, and state of health or disease. This paper discusses how keratin gene expression is tightly regulated and can change in response to various factors such as cell differentiation, injury, or cancerous transformation. The regulation of keratin expression involves a complex network that includes genomic regulatory elements, transcription factors, and the spatial organization of chromatin. The document summarizes current knowledge on the patterns of keratin expression across different biological contexts and the diverse mechanisms that control this expression at the genomic and molecular levels.