KRT31 Male and female animals underwent a standardized phenotypic screen to determine the effects of deletion. Additional screens performed: - In-depth immunological phenotyping KRT31 Keratin, type I cuticular Ha1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the "KRT31" gene. The protein encoded by this gene is a member of the keratin gene family. As a type I hair keratin, it is an acidic protein which heterodimerizes with type II keratins to form hair and nails. The type I hair keratins are clustered in a region of chromosome 17q12-q21 and have the same direction of transcription. Model organisms have been
Hair cell mice bred to be missing the gene grow more hair cells than control mice that have the gene. Additionally, the sonic hedgehog protein has been shown to block activity of the retinoblastoma protein, thereby inducing cell cycle re-entry and the regrowth of new cells. The cell cycle inhibitor p27kip1 (CDKN1B) has also been found to encourage regrowth of cochlear hair cells in mice following genetic deletion or knock down with siRNA targeting p27. Research on hair cell regeneration may bring us closer to clinical treatment for human hearing loss caused by hair cell damage or death. Hair cell Hair cells