Keratinization

Keratins are the major structural protein of vertebrate epidermis, constituting up to 85% of a fully differentiated keratinocyte. Keratins belong to a superfamily of intermediate filament (IF) proteins that form alpha-helical coiled-coil dimers, which associate laterally and end-to-end to form approximately 10 nm diameter filaments. Keratin filaments are heteropolymeric, formed from equal amounts of acidic type I and basic /neutral type 2 keratins. Humans have 54 keratin genes. They have highly specific expression patterns, related to the epithelial type and stage of differentiation. Roughly half of human keratins are specific to hair follicles. Keratin filaments bundle into tonofilaments that span the cytoplasm and bind to desmosomes and other cell membrane structures. This reflects their primary function, maintaining the mechanical stability of individual cells and epithelial tissues.

Summary from Reactome (R-HSA-6805567), read 2026-09-23.