FUNCTION: MAY BE A MARKER OF BASAL CELL DIFFERENTIATION IN COMPLEX EPITHELIA AND THEREFORE INDICATIVE OF A CERTAIN TYPE OF EPITHELIAL "STEM CELLS". * SUBUNIT: HETERODIMER OF A TYPE I AND A TYPE II KERATIN. KRT17 ASSOCIATES WITH KRT6 ISOMERS. * TISSUE SPECIFICITY: EXPRESSED IN THE HAIR FOLLICLE, NAIL BED, MUCOSAL STRATIFIED SQUAMOUS EPITHELIA AND IN BASAL CELLS OF ORAL EPITHELIUM, PALMOPLANTAR EPIDERMIS AND SWEAT AND MAMMARY GLANDS. * INDUCTION: Induced in damaged or stressed epidermis. * DISEASE: KRT16 AND KRT17 ARE COEXPRESSED ONLY IN PATHOLOGICAL SITUATIONS SUCH AS METAPLASIAS AND CARCINOMAS OF THE UTERINE CERVIX AND IN PSORIASIS VULGARIS. * DISEASE: DEFECTS IN KRT17 ARE A CAUSE OF TYPE II PACHYONYCHIA CONGENITA (PC-2) ALSO KNOWN AS JACKSON-LAWLER (J&L) SYNDROME. PC-2 IS CHARACTERIZED BY ONCHYOGRYPOSIS, LIMITED PLANTAR HYPERKERATOSIS, MULTIPLE EPIDERMAL CYSTS, ABNORMAL EYEBROW AND BODY HAIR AND BY THE PRESENCE OF NATAL TEETH. * DISEASE: Defects in KRT17 are a cause of steatocystoma multiplex (SM), a disease characterized by round or oval cystic tumors widely distributed on the back, anterior trunk, arms, scrotum, and thighs. * MISCELLANEOUS: There are two types of cytoskeletal and microfibrillar keratin, I (acidic) and II (neutral to basic) (40-55 and 56-70 kDa, respectively). * SIMILARITY: BELONGS TO THE INTERMEDIATE FILAMENT FAMILY. |
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04-JAN-03
Last Update 13-Mar-03