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Stratum Corneum pp 25–38Cite as

Epidermal Keratin: Filaments and Matrix

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Abstract

The terminally differentiated stratum corneum cells of mammalian epidermis consist largely of a tough thickened cell membrane and are filled with an insoluble disulphide-bond cross-linked proteinaceous complex, keratin. Ultrastructural studies have revealed that keratin consists of a two component system: filaments (tonofilaments=keratin filaments) that are 7–9 nm wide and an amorphous interfilamentous matrix, the protein of which is thought to derive from keratohyalin [6, 21]. The keratin filaments of the stratum corneum usually appear as lighter-staining rods or circles (or occasionally as annuli) against the darker-staining osmiophilic matrix. This image is referred to as the “keratin pattern” [6]. More recent in vitro biochemical experiments have adduced support for this two component keratin complex. Mixing of keratin filaments reconstituted in vitro with a cationic histidine-rich protein (filaggrin) isolated from stratum corneum cells results in the formation of large insoluble fibrous structures, termed macrofibrils, which consist of many filaments aligned in parallel arrays reminiscent of the keratin pattern of the stratum corneum [9, 37].

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dermatology Branch, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20205, USA

    P. M. Steinert

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  1. P. M. Steinert
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, University of Wales, Welsh National School of Medicine, Heath Park, Cardiff, CF4 4XN, Great Britain

    Ronald Marks

  2. Universitätshautklinik, Moorenstraße 5, 4000, Düsseldorf 1, Germany

    Gerd Plewig

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© 1983 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Steinert, P.M. (1983). Epidermal Keratin: Filaments and Matrix. In: Marks, R., Plewig, G. (eds) Stratum Corneum. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-68682-5_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-68682-5_4

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-11704-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-68682-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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