Digging deep for filaggrin’s function in regulating epidermal barrier formation

Grantee: Ellen van den Bogaard, Professor, Radboud University Medical Center

Amount: DKK 3,929,813

Grant category: Research Grants in open competition

Year: 2022

Geography: Netherlands

The aim of Ellen’s project is to improve the understanding of the role of skin protein filaggrin (FLG) in regulating and controlling epidermal keratinocyte robustness and differentiation.

Ever since the discovery that loss-of-function mutations in the FLG gene are the main risk factor for developing Atopic Dermatitis (AD), many studies have aimed to relate the presence or absence of FLG to processes involved in skin homeostasis. The filaggrin protein is comprised of several repetitive elements as well as two unique domains, A and B. While many mutations in the filaggrin monomers are known to be important in AD, the role of the A and B domains have been less studied.

Previous investigation, featuring collaborator and postdoctoral fellow Jos P.H. Smits, discovered that mutations in these domains affect the expression of genes that are important for terminal differentiation of epidermal keratinocytes. The terminal differentiation of keratinocytes is important for the formation of the skin barrier. In this project, the team want to expand initial findings into elaborate studies using 3D skin organoids, also called “human skin equivalents” combined with in-depth molecular and functional analyses. Ellen’s group has developed many of these 3D skin equivalents to resemble both the structure and environment of real skin. By exposing the skin equivalents to relevant environmental factors, they will study how mutations in the filaggrin A and B domains affect keratinocyte differentiation and terminal fate and ultimately the overall skin barrier function. The hope is to identify potential new targets for therapeutic interventions in AD by modifying the expression of filaggrin and thereby regulating the barrier function of the skin.