Hard and Soft Principles Defining the Structure, Function, and Regulation of Keratin Intermediate Filaments

February 2002 in “ Current Opinion in Cell Biology ”

Pierre A. Coulombe, M. Bishr Omary

keratin intermediate filaments keratin genes keratin mutations transgenic models cellular stress responses

Studysummary Keratin filaments are crucial for cell structure and protection, with ongoing discoveries about their genes and functions. Our plain-language summary of this paper — not a Tressless recommendation.

This review explored the structure, function, and regulation of keratin intermediate filaments (IFs), highlighting both established ('hard') and emerging ('soft') principles. It discussed the discovery of novel keratin genes, the mechanics of keratin filaments, and the functional redundancy revealed by gene knockouts. The study also examined the role of keratin mutations in various diseases and the regulation of keratin through interactions with other proteins. The field was noted to be rapidly advancing, driven by transgenic models and new insights into keratin's protective roles in cellular stress responses.

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research The Functional Diversity of Epidermal Keratins Revealed by the Partial Rescue of the Keratin 14 Null Phenotype by Keratin 16

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research The Catalog of Human Hair Keratins

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research The Two Functional Keratin 6 Genes of Mouse Are Differentially Regulated and Evolved Independently from Their Human Orthologs

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