Keratin 20 Expressed in Secretory Cells of the Rabbit Digestive System

概要

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Intermediate filament proteins are highly diverse, and their expression is acutely reflected in cell differentiation. However, the biological roles of these proteins remain largely unknown. Since keratin (K) 20 is peculiarly expressed in epithelial cancer cells, it has been used as a marker of these cells. In this study, to examine the function of K-20, the protein was detected immunohistochemically in normal rabbit digestive organs; i.e., the stomach, small and large intestines, submandibular gland, liver and pancreas. K-20 was abundantly expressed in the gastrointestinal endocrine cells of the digestive tract and in the endocrine cells of the pancreatic islets. In these cells, K-20 formed a juxtanuclear network from which it extended to the cell membrane. In addition, all exocrine cells also expressed K-20, but it existed just beneath the cell membrane and around a mass of secretory granules in these cells. Therefore, in endocrine cells, K-20 may play a role in intracellular signal transduction, since it distributed from the cell membrane to the nucleus. In the exocrine cells, in contrast, K-20 seems to play some role in maintaining cell shape and cell-cell contact, since it distributed in the marginal region of these cells.
日本組織細胞化学会の論文