K17 Null Phenotype
Mice homozygous for a null mutation at the K17 locus are viable but loose their hair during the first week after birth. The hair loss is attributable to fragility of the hair shaft and premature entry into the catagen phase of the hair follicle cycle. The phenotype is genetic strain-dependent and reversible, both of which correlate with a compensatory induction of K16 expression in hair follicle tissue. The two animals shown above are littermates but only the left one is K17 null. For further details see McGowan, Tong, et al., Genes & Dev. 2002
; Tong and Coulombe, Genes & Dev. 2006
; and Larouche et al., FASEB J. 2008
.
