Immunochemical characterization of three components of the hemidesmosome and their expression in cultured epithelial cells.

Treatment of bovine tongue mucosa with 1 M KCl induced a split in the lamina densa of the basement membrane zone (BMZ). The epithelium was then separated from the underlying connective tissue. Electron microscopic analysis of the stripped epithelium revealed that hemidesmosomes and their associated intermediate filaments (IF) remain along the basal surface of the epithelium.

Distribution of desmoplakin in normal cultured human keratinocytes and in basal cell carcinoma cells.

In cultured human keratinocytes (NHEK) maintained in medium containing low levels of Ca2+ (0.04 mM) desmoplakin is a component of certain electron-dense bodies in the cytoplasm. These bodies are associated with bundles of intermediate filaments.