Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol
January 2024
Keratins are epithelial intermediate filament proteins that play a crucial role in cellular stress protection, with K8 being the most abundant in the colon. The intestinal epithelial-specific K8-deficient mouse model (K8;Villin-Cre) exhibits characteristics of inflammatory bowel disease, including diarrhea, crypt erosion, hyperproliferation, and decreased barrier function. Nevertheless, the order in which these events occur and whether they are a direct cause of K8 loss or a consequence of one event inducing another remains unexplored.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFKeratin intermediate filaments convey mechanical stability and protection against stress to epithelial cells. Keratins are essential for colon health, as seen in keratin 8 knockout (K8) mice exhibiting a colitis phenotype. We hypothesized that keratins support the nuclear envelope and lamina in colonocytes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFKeratin 8 (K8) is the main intestinal epithelial intermediate filament protein with proposed roles for colonic epithelial cell integrity. Here, we used mice lacking K8 in intestinal epithelial cells (floxed K8 and Villin-Cre1000 and Villin-CreER) to investigate the cell-specific roles of intestinal epithelial K8 for colonocyte function and pathologies. Intestinal epithelial K8 deletion decreased K8 partner proteins, K18-K20, 75-95%, and the remaining keratin filaments were located at the colonocyte apical regions with type II K7, which decreased 30%.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFKeratins (K) are intermediate filament proteins important in stress protection and mechanical support of epithelial tissues. K8, K18 and K19 are the main colonic keratins, and K8-knockout (K8) mice display a keratin dose-dependent hyperproliferation of colonic crypts and a colitis-phenotype. However, the impact of the loss of K8 on intestinal cell differentiation has so far been unknown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF