The Role of Keratins and Keratinocytes in Innate Defense
A special issue of Cells (ISSN 2073-4409).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 June 2019) | Viewed by 22005
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Epithelia are characterized by the expression of cytoskeletal keratin intermediate filament proteins, which support efficient barriers, strong intercellular adhesion complexes and contribute to the maintenance of tissue homeostasis by controlling inflammatory signaling. Keratin diseases such as epidermolysis bullosa simplex and pachyonychia congenita are characterized by cell and tissue fragility, inflammation, itch and the upregulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines. These events are triggered by barrier defects or by keratinocyte-intrinsic signals, which can result from keratin mutations. Conversely, microbial ligands can trigger the generation of antimicrobial peptides from keratin 6a in corneal keratinocytes to dampen immune responses. Advances in understanding how keratin interactions and mutations cause cell and tissue injury and how keratin isotypes affect inflammatory signaling in epithelial cells have delivered novel insights into disease pathomechanisms and have highlighted similarities between keratins and additional intermediate filament proteins. This knowledge may serve as a basis for concepts to restore epithelial barriers and for the development of molecular therapies.
In this Special Issue, we invite your contribution, either in the form of original research articles or reviews, providing functional and mechanistic insights, on aspects of how keratins and related intermediate filament proteins contribute to innate immune responses.
Prof. Dr. Thomas Magin
Guest Editor
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