Lympho-epithelial Kazal-type related inhibitor 2 (LEKTI-2) is a protein encoded by the ''SPINK9'' gene in humans. ''SPINK9'' is a member of a gene family cluster located on

chromosome 5 Chromosome 5 is one of the 23 pairs of chromosomes in humans. People normally have two copies of this chromosome. Chromosome 5 spans about 181 million base pairs (the building blocks of DNA) and represents almost 6% of the total DNA in cells. C ...

q33.1, which includes ''

SPINK5 Lympho-epithelial Kazal-type-related inhibitor (LEKTI) also known as serine protease inhibitor Kazal-type 5 (SPINK5) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''SPINK5'' gene. Structure and function LEKTI is a large multidomain serine prot ...

'' and ''

SPINK6 Serine protease inhibitor Kazal-type 6 (SPINK6) is a protein encoded by the ''SPINK6'' gene in humans. It is a potent inhibitor of epidermal proteases involved in maintaining skin homeostasis, including KLK5, KLK7 and KLK14. ''SPINK6'' is a membe ...

''. LEKTI-2 is an inhibitor of

KLK5 Kallikrein-5, formerly known as stratum corneum tryptic enzyme (SCTE), is a serine protease expressed in the epidermis. In humans it is encoded by the ''KLK5'' gene. This gene is one of the fifteen kallikrein subfamily members located in a clust ...

Desquamation

The outer layer of the

epidermis The epidermis is the outermost of the three layers that comprise the skin, the inner layers being the dermis and hypodermis. The epidermis layer provides a barrier to infection from environmental pathogens and regulates the amount of water rele ...

is called the

stratum corneum The stratum corneum (Latin for 'horny layer') is the outermost layer of the epidermis. The human stratum corneum comprises several levels of flattened corneocytes that are divided into two layers: the ''stratum disjunctum'' and ''stratum compact ...

. In the stratum corneum terminally differentiated corneocytes are held together by corneodesmosomes. In order for

desquamation Desquamation occurs when the outermost layer of a tissue, such as the skin, is shed. The term is . Physiologic desquamation Keratinocytes are the predominant cells of the epidermis, the outermost layer of the skin. Living keratinocytes reside in ...

to occur, corneodesmosomes need to be fully degraded.

and

KLK7 Kallikrein-related peptidase 7 (KLK7) is a serine protease that in humans is encoded by the ''KLK7'' gene. KLK7 was initially purified from the epidermis and characterised as stratum corneum chymotryptic enzyme (SCCE). It was later identified as t ...

are two serine proteases that degrade corneodesmosomes. LEKTI-2 regulates corneodesmosome degradation by inhibiting KLK5. In acral (palm and sole) skin, where desquamation needs to be delayed, ''SPINK9'' expression is strongly upregulated. The resulting high level of LEKTI-2 delays corneodesmosome degradation, thereby allowing the epidermis to form a thick protective stratum corneum layer.

Clinical Significance

SPINK9 is overexpressed in

lichen simplex chronicus Lichen simplex chronicus (LSC) is thick leathery skin with exaggerated skin markings caused by sudden itching and excessive rubbing and scratching. It generally results in small bumps, patches, scratch marks and scale. It typically affects the ...

actinic keratosis Actinic keratosis (AK), sometimes called solar keratosis or senile keratosis, is a pre-cancerous area of thick, scaly, or crusty skin.Freedberg, et al. (2003). ''Fitzpatrick's Dermatology in General Medicine''. (6th ed.). McGraw-Hill. . Actinic k ...

, and squamous cell carcinoma.

References

Proteins {{gene-5-stub

Desquamation

Clinical Significance

See also

References