Interaction of trichohyalin with intermediate filaments: three immunologically defined stages of trichohyalin maturation.

"Trichohyalin" is a 220-kD protein found in trichohyalin granules that are present as major differentiation products in the medulla and inner root sheath cells of human hair follicles. It was unclear whether this protein served as an intermediate filament precursor in the inner root sheath or as an intermediate-filament-associated (matrix) protein. We have produced a panel of monoclonal antibodies (AE15-17) to this protein and used them to trace its fate during inner root sheath differentiation. These studies have allowed us to define three immunologically distinct forms of this trichohyalin protein. They are 1) the AE15-positive form, which is found throughout all trichohyalin granules; 2) the AE16-positive form, which is localized as discrete punctae on the surface of trichohyalin granules; and 3) the AE17-positive, intermediate-filament-bound form, which associates with the inner root sheath filaments with a regular, 400-nm periodicity. From these results we suggest that the 220-kD trichohyalin protein is an intermediate-filament-associated protein that may play a role in the lateral aggregation, precise alignment, and stabilization of inner root sheath filament bundles.