December 2025 in “The Journal of Cell Biology” This study found that keratin 15 lacks the ability to sequester YAP1 in keratinocytes effectively, unlike keratin 14, and suggests that a higher K15:K14 ratio may promote a progenitor state and inhibit differentiation in epidermal keratinocytes.
198 citations
,
March 1999 in “Journal of Investigative Dermatology” This study found that keratin 15 expression is downregulated in hyperproliferative conditions like psoriasis and hypertrophic scars, suggesting it is not compatible with keratinocyte activation.
90 citations
,
February 2001 in “The journal of investigative dermatology/Journal of investigative dermatology” This study found that interleukin-1 directly induces the expression of keratin 6 in keratinocytes, which is a marker of activation and involved in inflammatory skin responses.
54 citations
,
September 1999 in “PubMed” This study suggests that immunostaining for Keratin 15 may be a useful tool for differentiating between basal cell carcinoma and trichoepithelioma.
51 citations
,
January 2007 in “The journal of investigative dermatology/Journal of investigative dermatology” This study identified a novel keratin-associated protein, KAP24.1, which is specifically expressed in the human scalp and located in the hair cuticle.
42 citations
,
July 2010 in “European Journal of Cell Biology” This study found that thyroid hormones T3 and T4 enhance keratin 15 promoter activity and stimulate CD200 expression in epithelial stem cells from human scalp hair follicles, affecting their growth and differentiation.
7 citations
,
July 2019 in “Animals” This study identified a new ovine KRTAP21-1 gene variant in sheep, with wool yield affected by the variant, suggesting its potential as a genetic marker for improving wool production.
This study used molecular dynamics simulations to illustrate the complex molecular behavior of the hair surface F-layer, highlighting how fatty acids interact with 18-MEA under different conditions.
January 2012 in “Durham e-Theses (Durham University)” This study found that knock-down of keratin 15 in various cell lines affected cell spreading, morphology, migration, differentiation, and proliferation, suggesting its role in maintaining the stem cell nature of keratinocytes.
387 citations
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November 2003 in “Journal of Investigative Dermatology” The K15 promoter effectively targets stem cells in the hair follicle bulge.
44 citations
,
March 2012 in “Molecular Carcinogenesis” This study found that keratin 15 expressing cells from the hair follicle contribute to the development and long-term persistence of cutaneous papillomas in transgenic mice, with a subset showing the Ha-ras mutation.
12 citations
,
January 2000 in “Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications” This study characterized the intron-exon organization of human keratin 15 and keratin 19 genes to aid future mutation detection analyses related to potential genetic disorders of keratinization.
1 citations
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November 2012 in “European Journal of Cell Biology” The authors clarified data overlap and corrected a figure error, apologizing for any confusion.
February 2025 in “bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)” This study proposes a model suggesting that the ratio of keratin 15 to keratin 14 in epidermal keratinocytes promotes a progenitor state and opposes differentiation, based on insights from both cell culture and transgenic mouse models.
January 2007 in “Zhongguo linchuang yixue” In this study, researchers observed that Keratin 15 expression in hair follicles was significantly higher in normal adult men compared to those with androgenetic alopecia.
30 citations
,
December 2011 in “Journal of biological chemistry/The Journal of biological chemistry” This study found that serine 44 in the N-terminal head domain of keratin 17 is phosphorylated in response to various stimuli affecting skin keratinocyte growth, linking K17 up-regulation with growth and stress responses in skin epithelium.
18 citations
,
September 2018 in “The Journal of Agricultural Science” In this study, the presence of certain KAP15-1 gene variants in sheep was associated with differences in wool yield and fiber characteristics.
30 citations
,
March 2019 in “Archives animal breeding/Archiv für Tierzucht” In this study, variation in the KRTAP15-1 gene in goats was linked to changes in cashmere fibre diameter, with specific variants showing dominant or recessive effects.
48 citations
,
November 2002 in “Journal of biological chemistry/The Journal of biological chemistry” In this study, researchers found that size polymorphisms in certain hKAP1 genes are linked to the hKAP1.1B and hKAP1.3 genes, arising from intragenic deletions and duplications in Japanese and Caucasian populations.
July 2017 in “Cancer Research” This study identified a radio-resistant population of Krt15+ stem cells in the mouse small intestine that can initiate tumors, suggesting potential targets for colon cancer therapy.
53 citations
,
October 2003 in “Genetics” This study identified a mutation hotspot in the caracul (Ca) locus of mice, implicating the mK6irs1/Krt2-6g gene in hair formation and potentially human hair and skin diseases.
130 citations
,
April 2001 in “Journal of Investigative Dermatology” This study reports the first keratin gene mutation affecting the tail domain, leading to a unique cytoskeletal abnormality and severe epidermal hyperkeratosis, highlighting the tail domain's critical role in keratin organization.
106 citations
,
December 2015 in “Biomacromolecules” This study describes a method to create keratin hydrogels with adjustable erosion rates by mixing different ratios of keratose and kerateine, enabling controlled release of therapeutic agents like insulin-like growth factor 1.
98 citations
,
December 2015 in “The Journal of Cell Biology” In this study, researchers found that the absence of type I or type II keratins in mice leads to severe skin barrier defects, highlighting keratins' crucial role in epidermal structure and function.
85 citations
,
September 2013 in “International Journal of Molecular Sciences” This review evaluates existing research on Keratin 15 to assess its validity as a marker for epidermal stem cells, reporting no new results.
75 citations
,
September 2015 in “Acta biomaterialia” This study found that alkylation of kerateine cysteine residues created a cell-compatible method for controlling hydrogel erosion rates and therapeutic agent release in keratin-based systems.
53 citations
,
July 2011 in “Biomaterials” This study observed that hepatocyte adhesion to human hair keratin biomaterials was mediated by the hepatic ASGPR, as blocking this receptor reduced cell attachment.
28 citations
,
February 2012 in “PLoS ONE” In this study, researchers identified a novel congenital skin disorder in Chesapeake Bay retrievers, linked to a plakophilin-1 deficiency due to a genetic mutation, marking the first known occurrence in an animal species.
25 citations
,
May 1994 in “Journal of Investigative Dermatology” This study identified a novel gene, hacl-1, that is specifically expressed in the hair follicles of ICR mouse skin and is associated with their active state.
24 citations
,
October 2019 in “Genes” In this study, the identification of a novel KAP gene in sheep, named KRTAP36-1, was associated with increased prickle factor in wool, suggesting its potential as a genetic marker for breeding purposes.