Elaine Fuchs is interested in understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying development and differentiation of the mammalian skin epidermis and its appendages, and how these processes go awry in various human diseases of the skin, including genetic diseases and skin cancer. She utilizes mammalian epidermal stem cell culture and gene-knockout technology as model systems. Our central objective is to explore the mechanisms governing development and differentiation in epidermis and hair of mammalian skin and to understand how these processes go awry in genetic skin diseases. To facilitate these studies, we use cultured keratinocytes from human and mouse skin, one of the few systems where adult stem cells can be maintained and propagated in the laboratory. Our global aim is to take a molecular approach to skin biology and to apply our knowledge to human genetics and medical research.
Epidermis is composed of cell layers, the outermost being the skin surface.
Only the innermost, basal layer contains living, multiplying cells. When a basal cell ceases to divide and begins its journey to the skin surface, it embarks on a program of terminal differentiation. The cells first protect themselves by producing a mechanically durable, dense intracellular framework of filaments composed of a protein, keratin. Through abundant intercellular junctions, differentiating cells form continuous, interconnected cellular sheets. Later, the cells assemble an indestructible proteinaceous envelope that serves as a scaffold on which lipids are extruded and organized to form the epidermal barrier.