The dermal-epidermal junction

Recent insights into the structure and function of the dermal-epidermal junction have resulted from two converging lines of experimental evidence, namely, the study of inherited blistering disorders of the skin, in which mutations in genes encoding proteins of this region have been discovered, and the targeted ablation of the same genes in knockout mouse models. In addition to these studies, elegant analyses of the cell biology of the hemidesmosome/anchoring filament complex have revealed not only functionally important interactions between structural protein components, but also the role of certain of these proteins in mediating cell adhesion, migration, and signal transduction of messages from the extracellular matrix into the keratinocyte. Our current understanding of the dermal-epidermal junction forms a new model encapsulating the nature both of the hemidesmosomal attachment structures and of the interhemidesmosomal attachments that are mediated by differential cell type specific expression of proteins of the cutaneous adhesion zone.