Keratinocyte Differentiation in Psoriatic Scalp: Morphology and Expression of Epithelial Keratins
July 2006
in “
British Journal of Dermatology
”
keratinocyte differentiation psoriatic scalp hair follicles outer root sheath hair matrix stem cell region sebaceous glands keratin expression suprabasal keratins K16 K17 epidermal hyperproliferation keratin K8 keratin K18 follicular epithelium skin cells psoriasis hair roots stem cells oil glands skin proteins skin overgrowth
Studysummary This study found that keratin K17 is induced in the suprabasal layer of psoriatic scalp epidermis during epidermal hyperproliferation, suggesting it is not specific to hair follicles.
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The study examined hair follicles in psoriatic scalp biopsies compared to normal scalp and found that psoriasis did not affect the lower outer root sheath and hair matrix, although there was an irregular expansion in the proximal lower outer root sheath, identified as the stem cell region. There was also significant shrinkage of sebaceous glands in psoriatic scalp. Keratin expression was generally unaffected by psoriasis, except for the widespread expression of suprabasal keratins K16 and K17 in the psoriatic scalp epidermis. Keratins K8 and K18 were absent in follicular epithelium from both normal and psoriatic scalp. The study concluded that keratin K17 is induced suprabasally during epidermal hyperproliferation and is not hair follicle-specific.
