Fuchs Elaine, Raghavan Srikala
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA.
Nat Rev Genet. 2002 Mar;3(3):199-209. doi: 10.1038/nrg758.
At the surface of the skin, the epidermis serves as the armour for the body. Scientists are now closer than ever to understanding how the epidermis accomplishes this extraordinary feat, and is able to survive and replenish itself under the harshest conditions that face any tissue. By combining genetic engineering with cell-biological studies and with human genome data analyses, skin biologists are discovering the mechanisms that underlie the development and differentiation of the epidermis and hair follicles of the skin. This explosion of knowledge paves the way for new discoveries into the genetic bases of human skin disorders and for developing new therapeutics.
在皮肤表面，表皮充当着身体的防护层。如今，科学家们比以往任何时候都更接近了解表皮是如何完成这一非凡壮举的，以及它如何能够在任何组织所面临的最恶劣条件下存活并自我更新。通过将基因工程与细胞生物学研究以及人类基因组数据分析相结合，皮肤生物学家们正在发现皮肤表皮和毛囊发育及分化背后的机制。这一知识的激增为人类皮肤疾病遗传基础的新发现以及新疗法的开发铺平了道路。
