Collagenase Expression in Transgenic Mouse Skin Causes Hyperkeratosis and Acanthosis and Increases Susceptibility to Tumorigenesis

Abstract excerpt

In a series of transgenic mice, the human tissue collagenase gene was expressed in the suprabasal layer of the skin epidermis. Visually, the mice had dry and scaly skin which upon histological analysis revealed acanthosis, hyperkeratosis, and epidermal hyperplasia. At the ultrastructural level, intercellular granular materials were absent in the transgenic skin epidermis but contact was maintained through the...