Epidermis-specific type I keratin that plays a key role in skin. Acts as a regulator of innate immunity in response to skin barrier breach: required for some inflammatory checkpoint for the skin barrier maintenance. Heterodimer of a type I and a type II keratin. KRT16 associates with KRT6 isomers (KRT6A or KRT6B) (By similarity). Interacts with TCHP (PubMed:15731013). Interacts with TRADD (By similarity). Expressed in the corneal epithelium (at protein level). The disease is caused by variants affecting the gene represented in this entry. The disease is caused by variants affecting the gene represented in this entry. KRT16 and KRT17 are coexpressed only in pathological situations such as metaplasias and carcinomas of the uterine cervix and in psoriasis vulgaris. There are two types of cytoskeletal and microfibrillar keratin, I (acidic) and II (neutral to basic) (40-55 and 56-70 kDa, respectively). Belongs to the intermediate filament family.