title: Insight from the air-skin interface.
abstract: The epidermis is a relatively hypoxic tissue, despite being continually exposed to air. The role of hypoxia in epidermal differentiation and skin barrier function is incompletely understood. In this issue, Wong et al. show that hypoxia-inducible factors are central to the processes of epidermal differentiation and barrier formation, in particular by promoting the expression of the key skin barrier protein filaggrin.
authors.affiliation: Livingstone Skin Research Centre, Dermatology and Immunobiology, UCL institute of Child Health, London, UK.
authors.forename: Ryan F L
authors.initials: RFL
authors.lastname: O'Shaughnessy
authors.affiliation: Centre for Dermatology and Genetic Medicine, Medical Research Institute, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK. Electronic address: s.j.brown@dundee.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Sara J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Brown
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D051792:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D004817:Epidermis / Q000378:metabolism*; D000091344:Filaggrin Proteins; D051795:Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit / Q000502:physiology*; D007381:Intermediate Filament Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D000099162:Endothelial PAS Domain-Containing Protein 1
chemical_list: D051792:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins; D000091344:Filaggrin Proteins; D051795:Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit; D007381:Intermediate Filament Proteins; D000099162:Endothelial PAS Domain-Containing Protein 1; C497443:Hif1a protein, mouse