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There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
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Upon detachment from the basement membrane (BM), skin cells begin their migration toward the corneum and the skin surface. In the spinous layer these cells acquire keratin filaments. Moving outward, the cells upregulate a protein called filaggrin (FLG), which triggers the assembly of keratohyalin granules (KGs) through liquid-liquid phase separation. These KGs – the blue blobs – become prominently visible in the granular layer, where FLG levels are highest. KGs grow in number and volume in the granular layer, crowding cell cytoplasm. As they move into the corneum, the cells disassemble, losing KGs, nuclei, and other organelles, and becoming flattened, dead corneocytes filled only with keratin filaments. These dead cells form the protective outer layer of our bodies, until they slough off, making room for the next wave. (Illustration Courtesy: Felipe Quiroz)
Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)
