hKAP1.6 and hKAP1.7, Two Novel Human High Sulfur Keratin-Associated Proteins are Expressed in the Hair Follicle Cortex

Hair fiber differentiation involves the expression of both hair keratin intermediate filament proteins and their associated proteins, termed keratin-associated proteins. In this study, cDNA clones encoding two novel keratin-associated proteins were isolated from human hair follicle mRNA. The predicted amino acid sequence derived from these clones revealed that these proteins represent members of the human keratin-associated protein 1 family. They show strong sequence homology to two previously described keratin-associated protein 1 family members hKAP1.1 A and hKAP1.1B. We have called these new proteins hKAP1.6 and hKAP1.7, respectively. RNA in situ hybridization studies of human anagen hair follicles using a conserved probe for these four keratin-associated protein 1 members demonstrated the expression of this group in the differentiated portions of the hair cortex