title: Conflicting roles for p63 in skin development and carcinogenesis.
abstract: Epidermal morphogenesis is a complex process that culminates in the formation of a barrier that protects the organism from environmental substances and dehydration. p63, a transcription factor, is essential for normal epidermal morphogenesis as demonstrated by the failure of mice lacking p63 expression to develop an epidermis. However, since two independently generated p63(-/-) mouse models displayed different phenotypes, the role of p63 in epidermal morphogenesis has remained controversial. Furthermore, the tumor susceptibility phenotypes of both p63(-/-) mouse models were strikingly different. In this review, we discuss these conflicting findings and provide evidence for various roles of p63 in the epidermis under normal and pathological conditions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
authors.forename: Maranke I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Koster
authors.forename: Daisy
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.forename: Dennis R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Roop
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic / Q000235:genetics*; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D004817:Epidermis / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D009154:Mutation; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D012867:Skin / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D015534:Trans-Activators / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D014157:Transcription Factors; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C115051:TP63 protein, human; D015534:Trans-Activators; D014157:Transcription Factors; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins