title: New consensus nomenclature for mammalian keratins.
abstract: Keratins are intermediate filament-forming proteins that provide mechanical support and fulfill a variety of additional functions in epithelial cells. In 1982, a nomenclature was devised to name the keratin proteins that were known at that point. The systematic sequencing of the human genome in recent years uncovered the existence of several novel keratin genes and their encoded proteins. Their naming could not be adequately handled in the context of the original system. We propose a new consensus nomenclature for keratin genes and proteins that relies upon and extends the 1982 system and adheres to the guidelines issued by the Human and Mouse Genome Nomenclature Committees. This revised nomenclature accommodates functional genes and pseudogenes, and although designed specifically for the full complement of human keratins, it offers the flexibility needed to incorporate additional keratins from other mammalian species.
authors.affiliation: Section of Normal and Neoplastic Epidermal Differentiation, Division of Cell Biology, German Cancer Research Center, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany. schweizer@dkfz.de
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schweizer
authors.forename: Paul E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Bowden
authors.forename: Pierre A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Coulombe
authors.forename: Lutz
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Langbein
authors.forename: E Birgitte
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Lane
authors.forename: Thomas M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Magin
authors.forename: Lois
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Maltais
authors.forename: M Bishr
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Omary
authors.forename: David A D
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Parry
authors.forename: Michael A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Rogers
authors.forename: Mathew W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Wright
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D007633:Keratins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D008322:Mammals; D011544:Pseudogenes / Q000235:genetics; D009626:Terminology as Topic
chemical_list: D007633:Keratins