Rab25 deficiency perturbs epidermal differentiation and skin barrier function in mice

Haengdueng Jeong, Kyung Min Lim, James R. Goldenring, Ki Taek Nam

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

Rab25, a member of the Rab11 small GTPase family, is central to achieving cellular polarity in epithelial tissues. Rab25 is highly expressed in epithelial cells of various tissues including breast, vagina, cervix, the gastrointestinal tract, and skin. Rab25 plays key roles in tumorigenesis, mainly by regulating epithelial differentiation and proliferation. However, its role in skin physiology is relatively unknown. In this study, we demonstrated that Rab25 knock-out (KO) mice show a skin barrier dysfunction with high trans-epidermal water loss and low cutaneous hydration. To examine this observation, we investigated the histology and epidermal differentiation markers of the skin in Rab25 KO mice. Rab25 KO increased cell proliferation at the basal layer of epidermis, whereas the supra-basal layer remained unaffected. Ceramide, which is a critical lipid component for skin barrier function, was not altered by Rab25 KO in its distribution or amount, as determined by immunohistochemistry. Notably, levels of epidermal differentiation markers, including loricrin, involucrin, and keratins (5, 14, 1, and 10) increased prominently in Rab25 KO mice. In line with this, depletion of Rab25 with single hairpin RNA increased the expression of differentiation markers in a human keratinocyte cell line, HaCaT. Transcriptomic analysis of the skin revealed increased expression of genes associated with skin development, epidermal development, and keratinocyte differentiation in Rab25 KO mice. Collectively, these results suggested that Rab25 is involved in the regulation of epidermal differentiation and proliferation.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)553-561
Number of pages9
JournalBiomolecules and Therapeutics
Volume27
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - 2019

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This research was supported by The Myung-Sun Kim Memorial Foundation (to KTN).

Funding Information:
This research was supported by The Myung?Sun Kim Memorial Foundation (to KTN).

Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 The Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology.

Keywords

  • Epidermal differentiation
  • Epidermis
  • Rab25
  • Skin
  • Skin proliferation

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