title: Keratinocyte survival, differentiation, and death: many roads lead to mitogen-activated protein kinase.
abstract: The epidermis is a dynamic and continually renewing surface that provides and maintains a life-sustaining interface with the environment. The epidermal keratinocyte, the major cell type of the epidermis, undergoes a complex and carefully choreographed program of differentiation. This process requires a balance between keratinocyte proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. This overview will concentrate on cascades that regulate the balance between keratinocyte cell proliferation and survival, and apoptosis and cell differentiation, with a particular emphasis on the role of the mitogen-activated protein kinase cascades. A summary of the literature suggests that extracellular regulated kinases function to promote keratinocyte proliferation and survival, whereas p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase functions to promote differentiation and apoptosis.
authors.affiliation: Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Cleveland, Ohio 44106-4970, USA. rle2@po.cwru.edu
authors.forename: Richard L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Eckert
authors.forename: Tatiana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Efimova
authors.forename: Shervin R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Dashti
authors.forename: Sivaprakasam
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Balasubramanian
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Deucher
authors.forename: James F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Crish
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sturniolo
authors.forename: Frederic
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bone
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016923:Cell Death / Q000502:physiology; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D015603:Keratinocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*; D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases