I have recently found out that Gene X-knockout mice develop black footpads much the same way as shown in Figure1. Immunostaining with ITGA6 revealed that differentiated melanocytes proliferate in the dermis, which is totally different from keratin9 knockout mice exhibit the proliferation in the epidermis adjacent to the basal membrane as shown in Figure2. Given that melanocytes generally exist both in the epidermis at the adjacent basement membrane and in the dermis, what makes the difference in terms of the histological distribution of melanocytes in the footpads?
Ref; Keratin 9 Is Required for the Structural Integrity and Terminal Differentiation of the Palmoplantar Epidermis (Journal of Investigative Dermatology (2014) 134, 754–763)
In the volar skin (footpads) of SPRED1 -/- mice, the increased number of mature melanocytes is observed in the dermis, but not the secretory portion where we have recently identified as niche of melanocyte stem cells.
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