A keratin code defines the textile nature of epithelial tissue architecture

Curr Opin Cell Biol. 2023 Sep 12;85:102236. doi: 10.1016/j.ceb.2023.102236. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTWe suggest that the human body can be viewed as of textile nature whose fabric consists of interconnected fiber systems. These fiber systems form highly dynamic scaffolds, which respond to environmental changes at different temporal and spatial scales. This is especially relevant at sites where epithelia border on connective tissue regions that are exposed to dynamic microenvironments. We propose that the enormous heterogeneity and adaptability of epithelia are based on a "keratin code", which results from the cell-specific expression and posttranslational modification of keratin isotypes. It thereby defines unique cytoskeletal intermediate filament networks that are coupled across cells and to the correspondingly heterogeneous fibers of the underlying extracellular matrix. The resulting fabric confers unique local properties.PMID:37708744 | DOI:10.1016/j.ceb.2023.102236
Source: Current Opinion in Cell Biology - Category: Cytology Authors: Source Type: research