Structural behavior of keratin-associated protein 8.1 in human hair as revealed by a monoclonal antibody

In this study, we generated a monoclonal antibody against human KAP8.1 to analyze the protein’s roles and distribution in the human hair shaft. Using this antibody, we revealed that KAP8.1 was predominantly expressed in discrete regions of the keratinizing zone of the hair shaft cortex. The protein expression patterns paralleled the distribution of KAP8.1 mRNA and suggested that KAP8.1 plays a role associated with cells to control hair curvature. Cross-reactivity among species and epitope analysis indicated that the monoclonal antibody recognized a linear epitope shared among human, mouse, and sheep KAP8.1. The antibody failed to interact with sheep KAP8.1in native conformation, suggesting that structural features of KAP8.1 vary among species.Graphical abstractA) Immunohistological image of E4304-stained hair tissue from healthy Japanese donors. Red: E4304-stained KAP8.1, blue: DAPI-stained cell nuclei. B) Images of in situ hybridization of KRTAP8-1-mRNA in human hair samples. KZ, keratinizing zone; HB, hair bulb. C) Model structure of KAP8.1.

Source: Journal of Structural Biology - August 18, 2018 Category: Biology Source Type: research