Analysis of Keratin Aggregates

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Project Description

Epidermolytic hyperkeratosis (EH) is a rare genetic skin disorder caused by mutation of keratin 1 or 10, and characterized by blistering in the epidermis and hyperkeratosis. The skin may blister easily following mechanical injury and exposure to heat etc. Immortalized keratinocyte cell lines were established by our collaborators at the Dept. of Medical Sciences, Dermatology and Venereology, and these cell lines show promise as a screening model to test new potential drugs for treating EH patients. Large-scale screening requires robust, efficient and effective image analysis methods, and we are currently developing methods to analyze keratin aggregates in cultured EH cells.

The project resulted in a publication: H. Zhang, M. Ericsson, M. Virtanen, S. Weström, C. Wählby, A. Vahlquist and H. Törmä. Quantitative image analysis of protein expression and colocalization in skin sections Experimental Dermatology 2018 Feb;27(2):196-199. doi: 10.1111/exd.13457, Nov 2017

Tags: Microscopy, cell biology