This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Cheng, X.
Right arrow Articles by Koch, P. J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Cheng, X.
Right arrow Articles by Koch, P. J.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Molecular and Cellular Biology, January 2004, p. 154-163, Vol. 24, No. 1
0270-7306/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/MCB.24.1.154-163.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Assessment of Splice Variant-Specific Functions of Desmocollin 1 in the Skin

Xing Cheng,1,2 Kusal Mihindukulasuriya,2 Zhining Den,2 Andrew P. Kowalczyk,3 Cathárine C. Calkins,3 Akira Ishiko,4 Atsushi Shimizu,4 and Peter J. Koch1,2*

Departments of Molecular and Cellular Biology,1 Dermatology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas,2 Department of Dermatology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia,3 Department of Dermatology, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan4

Received 26 February 2003/ Returned for modification 28 April 2003/ Accepted 9 October 2003

Desmocollin 1 (Dsc1) is part of a desmosomal cell adhesion receptor formed in terminally differentiating keratinocytes of stratified epithelia. The dsc1 gene encodes two proteins (Dsc1a and Dsc1b) that differ only with respect to their COOH-terminal cytoplasmic amino acid sequences. On the basis of in vitro experiments, it is thought that the Dsc1a variant is essential for assembly of the desmosomal plaque, a structure that connects desmosomes to the intermediate filament cytoskeleton of epithelial cells. We have generated mice that synthesize a truncated Dsc1 receptor that lacks both the Dsc1a- and Dsc1b-specific COOH-terminal domains. This mutant transmembrane receptor, which does not bind the common desmosomal plaque proteins plakoglobin and plakophilin 1, is integrated into functional desmosomes. Interestingly, our mutant mice did not show the epidermal fragility previously observed in dsc1-null mice. This suggests that neither the Dsc1a- nor the Dsc1b-specific COOH-terminal cytoplasmic domain is required for establishing and maintaining desmosomal adhesion. However, a comparison of our mutants with dsc1-null mice suggests that the Dsc1 extracellular domain is necessary to maintain structural integrity of the skin.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Room S701, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030. Phone: (713) 798-3308. Fax: (713) 798-3800. E-mail: pkoch{at}bcm.tmc.edu.

Molecular and Cellular Biology, January 2004, p. 154-163, Vol. 24, No. 1
0022-538X/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/MCB.24.1.154-163.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Desai, B. V., Harmon, R. M., Green, K. J. (2009). Desmosomes at a glance. J. Cell Sci. 122: 4401-4407 [Full Text]  
  • Chen, J., Den, Z., Koch, P. J. (2008). Loss of desmocollin 3 in mice leads to epidermal blistering. J. Cell Sci. 121: 2844-2849 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Chen, J., Cheng, X., Merched-Sauvage, M., Caulin, C., Roop, D. R., Koch, P. J. (2006). An unexpected role for keratin 10 end domains in susceptibility to skin cancer. J. Cell Sci. 119: 5067-5076 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Den, Z., Cheng, X., Merched-Sauvage, M., Koch, P. J. (2006). Desmocollin 3 is required for pre-implantation development of the mouse embryo. J. Cell Sci. 119: 482-489 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Hardman, M. J., Liu, K., Avilion, A. A., Merritt, A., Brennan, K., Garrod, D. R., Byrne, C. (2005). Desmosomal Cadherin Misexpression Alters {beta}-Catenin Stability and Epidermal Differentiation. Mol. Cell. Biol. 25: 969-978 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Yang, T., Liang, D., Koch, P. J., Hohl, D., Kheradmand, F., Overbeek, P. A. (2004). Epidermal detachment, desmosomal dissociation, and destabilization of corneodesmosin in Spink5-/- mice. Genes Dev. 18: 2354-2358 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2010 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»