The major histological components of the hair follicle are the hair cortex and cuticle. The hair cuticle cells encase and protect the cortex and undergo a different developmental program to that of the cortex. We report the molecular characterization of a set of evolutionarily conserved hair genes which are transcribed in the hair cuticle late in follicle development. Two genes were isolated and characterized, one expressed in the human follicle and one in the sheep follicle. Each gene encodes a small protein of 16 kD, containing greater than 50 cysteine residues, ranging from 31 to 36 mol% cysteine. Their high cysteine content and in vitro expression data identify them as ultra-high-sulfur (UHS) keratin proteins. The predicted proteins are composed almost entirely of cysteine-rich and glycine-rich repeats. Genomic blots reveal that the UHS keratin proteins are encoded by related multigene families in both the human and sheep genomes. Tissue in situ hybridization demonstrates that the expression of both genes is localized to the hair fiber cuticle and occurs at a late stage in fiber morphogenesis.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
1 December 1990
Article|
December 01 1990
Structure and expression of genes for a class of cysteine-rich proteins of the cuticle layers of differentiating wool and hair follicles.
P J MacKinnon,
P J MacKinnon
Department of Biochemistry, Oxford University, United Kingdom.
Search for other works by this author on:
B C Powell,
B C Powell
Department of Biochemistry, Oxford University, United Kingdom.
Search for other works by this author on:
G E Rogers
G E Rogers
Department of Biochemistry, Oxford University, United Kingdom.
Search for other works by this author on:
P J MacKinnon
Department of Biochemistry, Oxford University, United Kingdom.
B C Powell
Department of Biochemistry, Oxford University, United Kingdom.
G E Rogers
Department of Biochemistry, Oxford University, United Kingdom.
Online ISSN: 1540-8140
Print ISSN: 0021-9525
J Cell Biol (1990) 111 (6): 2587–2600.
Citation
P J MacKinnon, B C Powell, G E Rogers; Structure and expression of genes for a class of cysteine-rich proteins of the cuticle layers of differentiating wool and hair follicles.. J Cell Biol 1 December 1990; 111 (6): 2587–2600. doi: https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.111.6.2587
Download citation file:
Sign in
Don't already have an account? Register
Client Account
You could not be signed in. Please check your email address / username and password and try again.
Could not validate captcha. Please try again.
Sign in via your Institution
Sign in via your InstitutionSuggested Content
Email alerts
Advertisement
Advertisement