Regulation of Keratin 9 in Nonpalmoplantar Keratinocytes by Palmoplantar Fibroblasts Through Epithelial–Mesenchymal Interactions
TLDR Nonpalmoplantar skin cells can be made to express keratin 9 by interacting with palmoplantar fibroblasts.
The study demonstrated that keratin 9 (K9) expression, typically found in palmoplantar keratinocytes, could be induced in nonpalmoplantar keratinocytes through coculture with palmoplantar fibroblasts, both in vitro and in vivo. This induction required close interaction between keratinocytes and fibroblasts, with papillary palmoplantar fibroblasts being more effective than reticular fibroblasts. Additionally, nonpalmoplantar epidermal sheets grafted onto human sole wounds adopted a palmoplantar phenotype and expressed K9, suggesting potential treatments for palmoplantar wounds using nonpalmoplantar epidermis.
