The nucleoskeleton is composed of many interacting structural proteins that provide the framework for DNA replication, transcription and a variety of other nuclear functions. For example, the type-V intermediate filament proteins, the lamins, and their associated proteins (e.g. Lap2alpha) play important roles in DNA replication and transcription. Furthermore, actin, actin-related proteins and other actin-associated proteins likewise appear to be important in nuclear functions because they are components of chromatin-remodeling complexes and are involved in mRNA synthesis, processing and transport. Newly described nuclear proteins that contain both actin- and lamin-binding domains could be involved in regulating molecular crosstalk between these two types of nucleoskeletal proteins. This range of activities might help to explain why genetic defects in some of the nucleoskeletal proteins contribute to an ever-expanding list of human diseases.

Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) is a member of the family of intermediate filament structural proteins and is found predominantly in astrocytes of the central nervous system (CNS). To assess the function of GFAP, we created GFAP-null mice using gene targeting in embryonic stem cells. The GFAP-null mice have normal development and fertility, and show no gross alterations in behavior or CNS morphology. Astrocytes are present in the CNS of the mutant mice, but contain a severely reduced number of intermediate filaments. Since astrocyte processes contact synapses and may modulate synaptic function, we examined whether the GFAP-null mice were altered in long-term potentiation in the CA1 region of the hippocampus. The GFAP-null mice displayed enhanced long-term potentiation of both population spike amplitude and excitatory post-synaptic potential slope compared to control mice. These data suggest that GFAP is important for astrocyte-neuronal interactions, and that astrocyte processes play a vital role in modulating synaptic efficacy in the CNS. These mice therefore represent a direct demonstration that a primary defect in astrocytes influences neuronal physiology.

Keratins are obligate heterodimer proteins that form the intermediate filament cytoskeleton of all epithelial cells. Keratins are tissue and differentiation specific and are expressed in pairs of types I and II proteins. The spectrum of inherited human keratin diseases has steadily increased since the causative role of mutations in the basal keratinocyte keratins 5 and 14 in epidermolysis bullosa simplex (EBS) was first reported in 1991. At the time of writing, mutations in 15 epithelial keratins and two trichocyte keratins have been associated with human diseases which include EBS, bullous congenital ichthyosiform erythroderma, epidermolytic palmoplantar keratoderma, ichthyosis bullosa of Siemens, diffuse and focal non-epidermolytic palmoplantar keratoderma, pachyonychia congenita and monilethrix. Mutations in extracutaneous keratins have been reported in oral white sponge naevus and Meesmann's corneal dystrophy. New subtleties of phenotype-genotype correlation are emerging within the keratin diseases with widely varying clinical presentations attributable to similar mutations within the same keratin. Mutations in keratin-associated proteins have recently been reported for the first time. This article reviews clinical, ultrastructural and molecular aspects of all the keratin diseases described to date and delineates potential future areas of research in this field.

Much effort has been expended on analyzing how microfilament and microtubule cytoskeletons dictate the interaction of cells with matrix at adhesive sites called focal adhesions (FAs). However, vimentin intermediate filaments (IFs) also associate with the cell surface at FAs in endothelial cells. Here, we show that IF recruitment to FAs in endothelial cells requires beta3 integrin, plectin and the microtubule cytoskeleton, and is dependent on microtubule motors. In CHO cells, which lack beta3 integrin but contain vimentin, IFs appear to be collapsed around the nucleus, whereas in CHO cells expressing beta3 integrin (CHOwtbeta3), vimentin IFs extend to FAs at the cell periphery. This recruitment is regulated by tyrosine residues in the beta3 integrin cytoplasmic tail. Moreover, CHOwtbeta3 cells exhibit significantly greater adhesive strength than CHO or CHO cells expressing mutated beta3 integrin proteins. These differences require an intact vimentin network. Therefore, vimentin IF recruitment to the cell surface is tightly regulated and modulates the strength of adhesion of cells to their substrate.

Previously we demonstrated that transgenic mice expressing a mutant keratin in the basal layer of their stratified squamous epithelia exhibited a phenotype bearing resemblance to a subclass (Dowling Meara) of a heterogeneous group of human skin disorders known as epidermolysis bullosa simplex (EBS) (Vassar, R., P. A. Coulombe, L. Degenstein, K. Albers, E. Fuchs. 1991. Cell. 64:365-380.). The extent to which subtypes of EBS diseases might be genetically related is unknown, although they all exhibit skin blistering as a consequence of basal cell cytolysis. We have now examined transgenic mice expressing a range of keratin mutants which perturb keratin filament assembly to varying degrees. We have generated phenotypes which include most subtypes of EBS, demonstrating for the first time that at least in mice, these diseases can be generated by different mutations within a single gene. A strong correlation existed between the severity of the disease and the extent to which the keratin filament network was disrupted, implicating perturbations in keratin networks as an essential component of these diseases. Some keratin mutants elicited subtle perturbations, with no signs of the tonofilament clumping typical of Dowling-Meara EBS and our previous transgenic mice. Importantly, basal cell cytolysis still occurred, thereby uncoupling cytolysis from the generation of large, insoluble cytoplasmic protein aggregates. Moreover, cell rupture occurred in a narrowly defined subnuclear zone, and seemed to involve three factors: (a) filament perturbation, (b) the columnar shape of the basal cell, and (c) physical trauma. This work provides the best evidence to date for a structural function of a cytoplasmic intermediate filament network, namely to impart mechanical integrity to the cell in the context of its tissue.

Desmoplakin (DP), plakoglobin (PG), and plakophilin 1 (PP1) are desmosomal components lacking a transmembrane domain, thus making them candidate linker proteins for connecting intermediate filaments and desmosomes. Using deletion and site-directed mutagenesis, we show that remarkably, removal of approximately 1% of DP's sequence obliterates its ability to associate with desmosomes. Conversely, when linked to a foreign protein, as few as 86 NH2-terminal DP residues are sufficient to target to desmosomes efficiently. In in vitro overlay assays, the DP head specifically associates with itself and with desmocollin 1a (Dsc1a). In similar overlay assays, PP1 binds to DP and Dsc1a, and to a lesser extent, desmoglein 1 (Dsg1), while PG binds to Dsg1 and more weakly to Dsc1a and DP. Interestingly, like DP, PG and PP1 associate with epidermal keratins, although PG is considerably weaker in its ability to do so. As judged by overlay assays, the amino terminal head domain of type II keratins appears to have a special importance in establishing these connections. Taken together, our findings provide new insights into the complexities of the links between desmosomes and intermediate filaments (IFs). Our results suggest a model whereby at desmosome sites within dividing epidermal cells, DP and PG anchor to desmosomal cadherins and to each other, forming an ordered array of nontransmembrane proteins that then bind to keratin IFs. As epidermal cells differentiate, PP1 is added as a molecular reinforcement to the plaque, enhancing anchorage to IFs and accounting at least partially for the increase in numbers and stability of desmosomes in suprabasal cells.

Lamins are intermediate filament proteins and the major component of the nuclear lamina. Current views of the lamina are based on the remarkably regular arrangement of lamin LIII in amphibian oocyte nuclei. We have re-examined the LIII lamina and propose a new interpretation of its organization. Rather than consisting of two perpendicular arrays of parallel filaments, we suggest that the oocyte lamina consists of parallel filaments that are interconnected in register to give the impression of a second set of perpendicular filaments. We have also used the oocyte system to investigate the organization of somatic lamins. Currently, it is not feasible to examine the organization of somatic lamins in situ because of their tight association with chromatin. It is also difficult to assemble vertebrate lamin filaments in vitro. Therefore, we have used the oocyte system, where exogenously expressed somatic B-type and A-type lamins assemble into filaments. Expression of B-type lamins induces the formation of intranuclear membranes that are covered by single filament layers. LIII filaments appear identical to the endogenous lamina, whereas lamin B2 assembles into filaments that are organized less precisely. Lamin A induces sheets of thicker filaments on the endogenous lamina and significantly increases the rigidity of the nuclear envelope.

During herpesvirus egress, capsids bud through the inner nuclear membrane. Underlying this membrane is the nuclear lamina, a meshwork of intermediate filaments with which it is tightly associated. Details of alterations to the lamina and the inner nuclear membrane during infection and the mechanisms involved in capsid transport across these structures remain unclear. Here we describe the fate of key protein components of the nuclear envelope and lamina during herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) infection. We followed the distribution of the inner nuclear membrane protein lamin B receptor (LBR) and lamins A and B(2) tagged with green fluorescent protein (GFP) in live infected cells. Together with additional results from indirect immunofluorescence, our studies reveal major morphologic distortion of nuclear-rim LBR and lamins A/C, B(1), and B(2). By 8 h p.i., we also observed a significant redistribution of LBR-GFP to the endoplasmic reticulum, where it colocalized with a subpopulation of cytoplasmic glycoprotein B by immunofluorescence. In addition, analysis by fluorescence recovery after photobleaching reveals that LBR-GFP exhibited increased diffusional mobility within the nuclear membrane of infected cells. This is consistent with the disruption of interactions between LBR and the underlying lamina. In addition to studying stably expressed GFP-lamins by fluorescence microscopy, we studied endogenous A- and B-type lamins in infected cells by Western blotting. Both approaches reveal a loss of lamins associated with virus infection. These data indicate major disruption of the nuclear envelope and lamina of HSV-1-infected cells and are consistent with a virus-induced dismantling of the nuclear lamina, possibly in order to gain access to the inner nuclear membrane.

Nestin is a type VI intermediate filament protein originally described in neural stem cells. Here we report that immature endothelial cells generated in the course of angiogenesis express nestin. Endothelial cells of embryonic capillaries destined to vascularize growing organs also express this intermediate filament protein. Whereas nestin was sporadically expressed in mature adult human endothelial cells sporadically express nestin, this protein was consistently expressed in adult angiogenic vasculature. Nestin expression was also detected in capillaries of the corpus luteum, which replenishes itself by angiogenesis. Nestin-immunoreactive vessels were also observed in the infarcted hearts where transient ischemia triggered regeneration accompanied with neovascularization of the myocardium. Nestinpositive endothelial cells lined vessels nourishing solid growing tumors, including melanoblastomas and glioblastomas. Our data provide definitive evidence that endothelial precursors express the neural stem cell marker nestin and that this protein participates in formation of the cytoskeleton of newly formed endothelial cells. Because nestin expression was recognized under all conditions of vascular development, nestin represents a novel and reliable marker of neovascularization.

Human keratin 18 (K18) and keratin 8 (K8) and their mouse homologs, Endo B and Endo A, respectively, are expressed in adult mice primarily in a variety of simple epithelial cell types in which they are normally found in equal amounts within the intermediate filament cytoskeleton. Expression of K18 alone in mouse L cells or NIH 3T3 fibroblasts from either the gene or a cDNA expression vector results in K18 protein which is degraded relatively rapidly without the formation of filaments. A K8 cDNA containing all coding sequences was isolated and expressed in mouse fibroblasts either singly or in combination with K18. Immunoprecipitation of stably transfected L cells revealed that when K8 was expressed alone, it was degraded in a fashion similar to that seen previously for K18. However, expression of K8 in fibroblasts that also expressed K18 resulted in stabilization of both K18 and K8. Immunofluorescent staining revealed typical keratin filament organization in such cells. Thus, expression of a type I and a type II keratin was found to be both necessary and sufficient for formation of keratin filaments within fibroblasts. To determine whether a similar proteolytic system responsible for the degradation of K18 in fibroblasts also exists in simple epithelial cells which normally express a type I and a type II keratin, a mutant, truncated K18 protein missing the carboxy-terminal tail domain and a conserved region of the central, alpha-helical rod domain was expressed in mouse parietal endodermal cells. This resulted in destabilization of endogenous Endo A and Endo B and inhibition of the formation of typical keratin filament structures. Therefore, cells that normally express keratins contain a proteolytic system similar to that found in experimentally manipulated fibroblasts which degrades keratin proteins not found in their normal polymerized state.

Intermediate filaments (IF) from baby hamster kidney (BHK-21) cells can be disassembled at low ionic strength and reassembled upon addition of salt. Turbidimetric analyses show that reassembled IF exhibit the light scattering properties of long rods under physiological conditions (5 mM Na+/K+ phosphate, pH 7.2/170 mM NaCl at 21 degrees C). IF weight concentration, determined by centrifugation, is directly proportional to the optical density at 3000 nm. Thus, turbidity can be used as a quantitative assay for IF assembly. Turbidimetric and centrifugation analyses both indicate that IF assembly exhibits a critical protein concentration of 0.05-0.15 mg/ml. Above the critical concentration, IF weight concentration at steady-state is a linear function of the total protein concentration. Negative stain observations at early stages of the assembly process suggest lateral association of protofilaments to form short IF. This lateral association is accompanied by a rapid turbidity increase which is then followed by IF elongation and a slower turbidity increase to plateau. Further purification of IF by low/high-NaCl-induced cycles of disassembly/reassembly results in retention of 54- and 55-kilodalton (decamin) polypeptides. These results constitute a quantitative description of in vitro reassembly of IF from homogeneous cultures of nonkeratinizing cells and establish conditions for further studies on the regulation of IF assembly.

A set of monoclonal antibodies to desmin has been isolated from a fusion of mouse myeloma cells with spleen cells from mice immunized with purified porcine desmin. Eleven group I antibodies recognized desmin in the immune blot, and using defined desmin fragments the epitope has been tentatively assigned as lying between residues 325 and 372. When cell lines were tested in immunofluorescence only the human line RD and hamster BHK-21 were positive. When tissue sections were used, skeletal, cardiac, visceral and some vascular smooth muscle cells were positive. Thus, the group I antibodies appear specific for desmin and do not recognize other intermediate filament proteins. Group II monoclonals recognized not only desmin in the immune blot but also other polypeptides. The epitope of this class is located between residues 70 and 280. In immunofluorescence on cell lines and tissues, the staining patterns of group II antibodies were more complicated and demonstrate that not only other intermediate filament proteins but also additional antigenic determinants are being recognized. The group I antibodies stain, as expected from their desmin specificity, rat and human rhabdomyosarcomas and thus appear to be useful reagents in pathology.

The low abundance proteins of the nuclear matrix (NM) were separated from the intermediate filament (IF) proteins and analyzed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Three human breast carcinoma lines had virtually identical patterns of 37 NM proteins. In contrast, cell lines derived from diverse tissues had qualitatively different NM protein patterns. Together, the five cell types examined here had a total of 205 distinguishable NM proteins with 125 of these proteins unique to a single cell type. The remaining NM proteins were shared among cell types to different degrees. Polyclonal antisera, obtained by immunization with total NM proteins as antigens, preferentially stained the nuclear interior and not the exterior IF. These observations suggest that the NM proteins, localized to the interior of the nucleus, vary in a cell-type-specific manner.

Intermediate filaments are major structural proteins encoded by a large multigene family. Their tissue-specific expression makes them important in studies of development, differentiation and pathology. Most intermediate filaments are keratins; recent discoveries of keratin mutations in a range of genetic skin disorders have clarified their role as providing essential structural support for cells in different physical settings.

Monoclonal antibodies were generated against the intermediate filament proteins of different human cells. The reactivity of these antibodies with the different classes of intermediate filament proteins was determined by indirect immunofluorescence on cultured cells, immunologic indentification on SDS polyacrylamide gels ("wester blot" experiments), and immunoperoxidase assays on intact tissues. The following four antibodies are described: (a) an antivimentin antibody generated against human fibroblast cytoskeleton; (b), (c) two antibodies that recognize a 54-kdalton protein in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells; and (d) an antikeratin antibody made to stratum corneum that recognizes proteins of molecular weight 66 kdaltons and 57 kdaltons. The antivimentin antibody reacts with vimentin (58 kdaltons), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and keratins from stratum corneum, but does not recognize hepatoma intermediate filaments. In immunofluorescence assays, the antibody reacts with mesenchymal cells and cultured epithelial cells that express vimentin. This antibody decorates the media of blood vessels in tissue sections. One antihepatoma filament antibody reacts only with the 54 kdalton protein of these cells and, in immunofluorescence and immunoperoxidase assays, only recognizes epithelial cells. It reacts with almost all nonsquamous epithelium. The other antihepatoma filament antibody is much less selective, reacting with vimentin, GFAP, and keratin from stratum corneum. This antibody decorates intermediate filaments of both mesenchymal and epithelial cells. The antikeratin antibody recognizes 66-kdalton and 57-kdalton proteins in extracts of stratum corneum and also identifies proteins of similar molecular weights in all cells tested. However, by immunofluorescence, this antibody decorates only the intermediate filaments of epidermoid carcinoma cells. When assayed on tissue sections, the antibody reacts with squamous epithelium and some, but not all, nonsquamous epithelium. Therefore this antistratum corneum antibody and the anti-54-kdalton antibody identify unique epitopes present in the various cytokeratin molecules of epithelial cells. None of the hybridoma antibodies react with neurofilament proteins. The different patterns of reactivity of these antibodies suggest that many of the immunologically distinct intermediate filament proteins contain common antigenic determinants.

In the adult nervous system, multipotential stem cells of the subventricular zone of the lateral ventricles generate neuron precursors (type-A cells) that migrate via the rostral migratory stream to the olfactory bulb where they differentiate into neurons. The migrating neuroblasts are surrounded by a sheath of astrocytes (type-B cells). Using immunostaining, in situ hybridization and enzyme histochemistry, we demonstrate that the ecto-ATPase nucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase 2 (NTPDase2) is expressed in the subventricular zone and the rostral migratory stream of the adult rat brain. This enzyme hydrolyses extracellular nucleoside triphosphates to the respective nucleoside diphosphates and is thought to directly modulate ATP receptor-mediated cell communication. Double labelling for the astrocyte intermediate filament protein GFAP and the glial glutamate transporter GLAST identifies the NTPDase2-positive cells as type-B cells. During development the enzyme protein is first detected at E18, long before expression of the astrocyte marker GFAP. It gradually becomes expressed along the ventricular and subventricular zone of the brain, followed by complete retraction to the adult expression pattern at P21. NTPDase2 is transiently expressed in the outer molecular layer of the dentate gyrus and within the cerebellar white matter and is associated with select microvessels, tanycytes of the third ventricle, and subpial astrocytes of the adult brain. Our results suggest that NTPDase2 can serve as a novel marker for specifying subsets of cells during in vivo and in vitro studies of neural development and raise the possibility that ATP-mediated signalling pathways play a role in neural development and differentiation.

The ability to heal wounds is vital to all organisms. In mammalian tissues, alterations in intermediate filament (IF) gene expression represent an early reaction of cells surviving injury. We investigated the role of keratin IFs during the epithelialization of skin wounds using a keratin 6alpha and 6beta (K6alpha/K6beta)-null mouse model. In skin explant culture, null keratinocytes exhibit an enhanced epithelialization potential due to increased migration. The extent of the phenotype is strain dependent, and is accompanied by alterations in keratin IF and F-actin organization. However, in wounded skin in vivo, null keratinocytes rupture as they attempt to migrate under the blood clot. Fragility of the K6alpha/K6beta-null epidermis is confirmed when applying trauma to chemically treated skin. We propose that the alterations in IF gene expression after tissue injury foster a compromise between the need to display the cellular pliability necessary for timely migration and the requirement for resilience sufficient to withstand the rigors of a wound site.

Human skin diseases have revealed fundamental mechanisms by which cytoskeletal proteins contribute to tissue architecture and function. In particular, the analysis of epidermal blistering disorders and the role of keratin gene mutations in these diseases has led to significant increases in our understanding of intermediate filament biology. The major cell-surface attachment site for intermediate filament networks is the desmosome, an adhesive intercellular junction prominent in the epidermis and the heart. During the past decade, substantial progress has been made in understanding the molecular basis of a variety of epidermal autoimmune diseases, skin fragility syndromes, and disorders that involve a combination of heart and skin defects caused by perturbations in desmosome structure and function. These human diseases reveal key roles for desmosomes in maintaining tissue integrity, but also suggest functions for desmosomal components in signal transduction pathways and epidermal organization.

The two major intermediate filament proteins in glandular epithelia are keratin polypeptides 8 and 18 (K8/18). To evaluate the function and potential disease association of K18, we examined the effects of mutating a highly conserved arginine (arg89) of K18. Expression of K18 arg89->>his/cys and its normal K8 partner in cultured cells resulted in punctate staining as compared with the typical filaments obtained after expression of wild-type K8/18. Generation of transgenic mice expressing human K18 arg89->>cys resulted in marked disruption of liver and pancreas keratin filament networks. The most prominent histologic abnormalities were liver inflammation and necrosis that appeared at a young age in association with hepatocyte fragility and serum transaminase elevation. These effects were caused by the mutation since transgenic mice expressing wild-type human K18 showed a normal phenotype. A relative increase in the phosphorylation and glycosylation of detergent solubilized K8/18 was also noted in vitro and in transgenic animals that express mutant K18. Our results indicate that the highly conserved arg plays an important role in glandular keratin organization and tissue fragility as already described for epidermal keratins. Phosphorylation and glycosylation alterations in the arg mutant keratins may account for some of the potential changes in the cellular function of these proteins. Mice expressing mutant K18 provide a novel animal model for human chronic hepatitis, and for studying the tissue specific function(s) of K8/18.

Associations between the cytoskeleton and cellular membranes, both within the cell and at points of cell contact, play a central role in determining cell shape and tissue integrity. During the past few years, it has become clear that many of these cytoskeleton-membrane interactions go far beyond simple mechanical linkages. For example, proteins that act as linker molecules at the adherens junctions and desmosomes in the plasma membrane have newly recognized functions in signal transduction pathways. These functions have profound effects on cell behaviour during development. In addition, within the nucleus, the lamin branch of the intermediate filament protein family appears to have a key role in defining the protein composition of the inner nuclear membrane by means of extensive interactions with integral membrane proteins. The identities of these integral membrane proteins are only now coming to light.

De novo folding and assembly of striated muscle myosin was analyzed by expressing a GFP-tagged embryonic myosin heavy chain (GFP-myosin) in post-mitotic C2C12 myocytes using replication defective adenoviruses. In the early stages of muscle differentiation, the GFP-myosin accumulates in bright globular foci and short filamentous structures that are later replaced by brightly fluorescent myofibrils. Time-lapse microscopy shows that the intermediates are dynamic and are present in elongating and fusing myocytes and in multinucleated myotubes. Immunostaining reveals the co-localization of the molecular chaperones Hsc70 and Hsp90 with the GFP-myosin in the intermediates, but not in the mature myofibrils. Uninfected cells have similar intermediates suggesting a common pathway for myosin maturation. Two conformation-sensitive antibodies that bind the unfolded motor domain and the coiled-coil conformation of the rod demonstrate that in the intermediates, the myosin rod is folded but the motor domain is not folded. Electron microscopy reveals that the intermediates contain loose filament bundles surrounded by a protein rich matrix. Geldanamycin, a specific inhibitor of Hsp90, reversibly blocks myofibril assembly and triggers accumulation of myosin folding intermediates. We conclude that multimeric complexes of nascent myosin filaments associated with Hsc70 and Hsp90 are intermediates in the folding and assembly pathway of muscle myosin.

DG81 is a cDNA clone derived from a subtracted library containing those RNA molecules that are present in gastrulae but absent from eggs of the frog Xenopus laevis. DG RNAs (where DG indicates differentially expressed in gastrula) represent the products of new transcription activated in the embryo at the midblastula transition or shortly thereafter. DG81 RNA is first detected in middle to late gastrulae, peaks in abundance in early tadpoles, and declines to background levels by the end of metamorphosis. Sequence analysis of an almost full-length cDNA clone homologous to DG81 allows deduction of a protein sequence that shows extensive homology to known intermediate filament proteins, most notably to epidermal type I cytokeratins. Consequently, the protein encoded by DG81 has been named XK81, for Xenopus keratin 81. In concert with keratins analyzed previously, XK81 has a central coiled-coil alpha-helical domain of 312 amino acids, which accounts for most of the homology to other keratins. This rod-like region is flanked by more divergent domains of 73 amino acids at the NH2 terminus and 44 amino acids at the COOH terminus. XK81 provides an example of a cytokeratin whose expression is limited to pre-adult developmental stages. We suggest that XK81 functions specifically in the differentiation of the tadpole epidermis.

Although all intermediate-size filaments (10-nm filaments) seem to show similar morphology and share a number of biochemical properties, different cell- and tissue-specific subclasses have been distinguished by immunological experiments and by differences in apparent molecular weights and isoelectric points of the major constituent proteins. In order to understand the degree of possible homology between these proteins, we have begun amino acid sequence analysis of the polypeptides. Here we characterize a large fragment of chicken gizzard and pig stomach desmin as well as the corresponding fragment from porcine eye lens vimentin. The fragments are situated at the carboxyl end and consist of 138-140 amino acid residues--i.e., some 28% of the corresponding polypeptide chains. The results show that the two immunologically distinct porcine proteins are different gene products. They show a related amino acid sequence but differ in 36% of the residues present in the carboxy-terminal region. Thus tissue specificity overrides species divergence. These results are discussed in the light of previous immunological experiments. They lend further support to the hypothesis that intermediate filaments belong to a multigene family, which is expressed in line with certain rules of differentiation during embryogenesis.

The major structural proteins of epithelia, the keratins, and the keratin filament-associated protein, filaggrin, were analyzed in more than 50 samples of human embryonic and fetal skin by one-dimensional SDS PAGE and immunoblotting with monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies. Companion samples were examined by immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy. Based on structural characteristics of the epidermis, four periods of human epidermal development were identified. The first is the embryonic period (before 9 wk estimated gestational age), and the others are within the fetal period: stratification (9-14 wk), follicular keratinization (14-24 wk), and interfollicular keratinization (beginning at approximately 24 wk). Keratin proteins of both the acidic (AE1-reactive, type I) and the basic (AE3-reactive, type II) subfamilies were present throughout development. Keratin intermediate filaments were recognized in the tissue by electron microscopy and immunohistochemical staining. Keratins of 50 and 58 kD were present in the epidermis at all ages studied (8 wk to birth), and those of 56.5 and 67 kD were expressed at the time of stratification and increased in abundance as development proceeded. 40- and 52-kD keratins were present early in development but disappeared with keratinization. Immunohistochemical staining suggested the presence of keratins of 50 and 58 kD in basal cells, 56.5 and 67 kD in intermediate cells, and 40 and 52 kD in the periderm as well as in the basal cells between the time of stratification and birth. Filaggrin was first detected biochemically at approximately 15 wk and was localized immunohistochemically in the keratinizing cells that surround hair follicles. It was identified 8-10 wk later in the granular and cornified cell layers of keratinized interfollicular epidermis. These results demonstrate the following. An intimate relationship exists between expression of structural proteins and morphologic changes during development of the epidermis. The order of expression of individual keratins is consistent with the known expression of keratins in simple vs. stratified vs. keratinized epithelia. Expression of keratins typical of stratified epithelia (50 and 58 kD) precedes stratification, and expression of keratins typical of keratinization (56.5 and 67 kD) precedes keratinization, which suggests that their expression marks the tissue commitment to those processes. Because only keratins that have been demonstrated in various adult tissues are expressed during fetal development, we conclude that there are no "fetal" keratins per se.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)