Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of proteins of newborn rat skin. I. Cell strata and nuclear proteins.

ABSTRACT

The proteins obtained from separated cells of neonatal rat dermis, four cell populations of epidermis, and an epidermal nuclear preparation were analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Comparison of the results of the insoluble proteins of the dermis and epidermis show no similarity of the major protein bands, indicating the effective separation of the dermis and epidermis and absence of cross-contamination. The gels of the soluble proteins of the basal, spinous, and granular layers of the epidermid are very similar. Only the pattern of bands of the cornified cells differs in that some of these bands are absent and at least three new bands are present. The insoluble proteins have specific differences in the protein content related to the cell structure. An example is the nuclear protein bands which correspond with the most prominent bands in the gels of basal and spinous layer proteins, but are absent, with the possible exception of one band, from gels of cornified cell proteins.