Detrimental Effects of IFN-γ on an Epidermolysis Bullosa Simplex Cell Model and Protection by a Humanized Anti-IFN-γ Monoclonal Antibody.

Epidermolysis bullosa is a group of severe skin blistering disorders, which currently have no cure. The pathology of epidermolysis bullosa is recognized as having an inflammatory component, but the role of inflammation in different epidermolysis bullosa disorders is unclear. Epidermolysis bullosa simplex (EBS) is primarily caused by sequence variants in keratin genes; its most severe form, EBS generalized severe, is characterized by aggregates of keratin proteins, and cell models of EBS generalized severe show constitutively elevated stress.

A cell-based drug discovery assay identifies inhibition of cell stress responses as a new approach to treatment of epidermolysis bullosa simplex.

In the skin fragility disorder epidermolysis bullosa simplex (EBS), mutations in keratin 14 (K14, also known as KRT14) or keratin 5 (K5, also known as KRT5) lead to keratinocyte rupture and skin blistering. Severe forms of EBS are associated with cytoplasmic protein aggregates, with elevated kinase activation of ERK1 and ERK2 (ERK1/2; also known as MAPK3 and MAPK1, respectively), suggesting intrinsic stress caused by misfolded keratin protein. Human keratinocyte EBS reporter cells stably expressing GFP-tagged EBS-mimetic mutant K14 were used to optimize a semi-automated system to quantify the effects of test compounds on keratin aggregates.

Assays to Study Consequences of Cytoplasmic Intermediate Filament Mutations: The Case of Epidermal Keratins.

The discovery of the causative link between keratin mutations and a growing number of human diseases opened the way for a better understanding of the function of the whole intermediate filament families of cytoskeleton proteins. This chapter describes analytical approaches to identification and interpretation of the consequences of keratin mutations, from the clinical and diagnostic level to cells in tissue culture. Intermediate filament pathologies can be accurately diagnosed from skin biopsies and DNA samples.