Enhancement of Cutaneous Wound Healing by Dsg2 Augmentation of uPAR Secretion.

In addition to playing a role in adhesion, desmoglein 2 (Dsg2) is an important regulator of growth and survival signaling pathways, cell proliferation, migration and invasion, and oncogenesis. Although low-level Dsg2 expression is observed in basal keratinocytes and is downregulated in nonhealing venous ulcers, overexpression has been observed in both melanomas and nonmelanoma malignancies. Here, we show that transgenic mice overexpressing Dsg2 in basal keratinocytes primed the activation of mitogenic pathways, but did not induce dramatic epidermal changes or susceptibility to chemical-induced tumor development.