Skin Abnormalities in Mice Transgenic for Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor 1: Implications for the Regulation of Desquamation and Follicular Neogenesis by Plasminogen Activator Enzymes

Plasminogen activator enzymes have been implicated in the regulation of growth, migration, and differentiation which occur continually in normal epidermis and cyclically in the hair follicle. To elucidate further the importance of plasminogen activation in epidermal physiology, studies were conducted using mice transgenic for human plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1). The epidermis of the newborn (4-7 days) transgenic mice was flaky and showed delayed hair growth compared to that of their control littermates. Histologic analyses revealed a greatly thickened stratum corneum in the transgenics. By 2 weeks after birth, no differences in epidermal morphology were apparent between transgenic and control littermates. Using in situ hybridization, immunocytochemistry, and in situ reverse zymography techniques, epidermal PAI-1 expression was correlated temporally with the aberrant epidermal morphology. These data implicate plasminogen activator activity in the regulation of epidermal shedding and follicular neogenesis.