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Life before and beyond blistering: The role of collagen XVII in epidermal physiology
Author(s) -
Natsuga Ken,
Watanabe Mika,
Nishie Wataru,
Shimizu Hiroshi
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
experimental dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.108
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1600-0625
pISSN - 0906-6705
DOI - 10.1111/exd.13550
Subject(s) - hemidesmosome , epidermis (zoology) , basal (medicine) , microbiology and biotechnology , basal membrane , basement membrane , dermoepidermal junction , hair follicle , bullous pemphigoid , chemistry , dermis , immunology , medicine , biology , pathology , endocrinology , anatomy , antibody , insulin
Type XVII collagen ( COL 17) is a transmembranous protein that is mainly expressed in the epidermal basal keratinocytes. Epidermal‐dermal attachment requires COL 17 expression at the hemidesmosomes of the epidermal basement membrane zone because congenital COL 17 deficiency leads to junctional epidermolysis bullosa and acquired autoimmunity to COL 17 induces bullous pemphigoid. Recently, in addition to facilitating epidermal‐dermal attachment, COL 17 has been reported to serve as a niche for hair follicle stem cells, to regulate proliferation in the interfollicular epidermis and to be present along the non‐hemidesmosomal plasma membrane of epidermal basal keratinocytes. This review focuses on the physiological properties of COL 17 in the epidermis, its role in maintaining stem cells and its association with signalling pathways. We propose possible solutions to unanswered questions in this field.