Expression of caspase-14 and keratin-19 in the human epidermis and appendages during fetal skin development.
Arch Dermatol Res
; 305(5): 379-87, 2013 Jul.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-23377137
ABSTRACT
Caspase-14 is a seemingly non-apoptotic caspase involved in keratinocyte differentiation and cornification of the skin. Keratin-19 is an epithelial marker and a potential marker of epidermal stem cells that is expressed during human fetal skin development. We examined the immunohistochemical expression of caspase-14 in relation to CK-19 in the human fetal skin during development and perinatally, to assess their role in human skin maturation. Skin samples were received at autopsy. In the fetal epidermis, caspase-14 was predominantly expressed in the more differentiated layers, gradually disappearing from the basal layer toward term. By contrast, keratin-19 expression gradually decreased with epidermal maturation through gestation (rho = -0.949; p = 0.0001) and was a marker of the germinative layers. Keratin-19 was preserved in scarce basal cell nests at term and postnatally. Caspase-14 and keratin-19 were inversely expressed in the differentiating epidermal layers through gestation (p < 0.0001). Concerning the appendages, in hair follicles and sebaceous glands, caspase-14 located preferentially in the more differentiated layers of the inner root sheath, whereas keratin-19 was expressed in the outer sheath. Eccrine sweat glands showed a variable pattern of caspase-14 and keratin-19 expression. In conclusion, caspase-14 emerged as a marker of human skin differentiation during development, while keratin-19 marked the germinative epithelial layers in the fetal epidermis and appendages and possibly the nests of epidermal stem cells.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Sebaceous Glands
/
Sweat Glands
/
Hair Follicle
/
Caspases
/
Epidermis
/
Epithelial Cells
/
Keratin-19
Type of study:
Observational_studies
Limits:
Humans
/
Newborn
Language:
En
Journal:
Arch Dermatol Res
Year:
2013
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Greece