Ultrastructure of the Contrasting Types of Keratinization Seen in the Tail Epidermis of the Laboratory Mouse Mus Musculus
January 1977
in “
Archives of dermatological research
”
TLDR Mouse tail skin has different keratinization near hair follicles and scales.
The study investigated keratinization in the tail epidermis of Mus musculus, revealing that around hair follicles, keratohyalin granules were present and the horny layer lacked nuclei, while scale regions did not form keratohyalin and retained nuclear remnants, resembling parakeratosis. Transmission electron microscopy confirmed these findings, showing complete organelle breakdown in follicular regions and degraded nuclear remnants in scale regions. Both regions exhibited an abrupt transition from living to keratinized cells, with thickened plasma membranes and a microfibril meshwork in horny cells.