Keratin, type I cytoskeletal 19 (Keratin-19)) also known as cytokeratin-19 (CK-19) is a 40 kDa protein that in humans is encoded by the KRT19gene.[5][6] Keratin-19 is a type I keratin.
Keratin-19 is a type I keratin. The type I cytokeratins consist of acidic proteins which are arranged in pairs of heterotypic keratin chains. Unlike its related family members, this smallest known acidic cytokeratin is not paired with a basic cytokeratin in epithelial cells. It is specifically found in the embryonic periderm, the transiently superficial layer that envelops the developing epidermis. The type I cytokeratins are clustered in a region of chromosome 17 (q12-q21).[6]
Use as biomarker
CYFRA 21-1, a soluble fragment of KRT19, is a tumor marker of various types of cancer, including lung, breast, stomach, pancreas, ovary. KRT19 is commonly expressed in carcinomas of these organs and CYFRA 21-1 is produced when KRT19 is cleaved during cell apoptosis.[7][8]
Due to its high sensitivity, KRT19 is the most used marker for the RT-PCR-mediated detection of tumor cells disseminated in lymph nodes, peripheral blood, and bone marrow of breast cancer patients. Depending on the assays, KRT19 has been shown to be both a specific and a non-specific marker.
False positivity in CYFRA 21-1 / KRT19 RT-PCR studies include:
illegitimate transcription (expression of small amounts of KRT19 mRNA by tissues in which it has no real physiological role)
haematological disorders (KRT19 induction in peripheral blood cells by cytokines and growth factors, which circulate at higher concentrations in inflammatory conditions and neutropenia)
the presence of pseudogenes (two KRT19 pseudogenes, KRT19a and KRT19b, have been identified, which have significant sequence homology to KRT19 mRNA. Subsequently, attempts to detect the expression of the authentic KRT19 may result in the detection of either or both of these pseudogenes)
sample contamination (introduction of contaminating epithelial cells during peripheral blood sampling for subsequent RT-PCR analysis).[9]
trauma and stress (such as shear stress, heat shock, toxins, infection, aging and oxidative stress such as from smoking), which increase KRT19 expression and cell apoptosis[7]
weight loss and muscle wasting/apoptosis (KRT19 is expressed in muscle)[7]
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Bader BL, Jahn L, Franke WW (December 1988). "Low level expression of cytokeratins 8, 18 and 19 in vascular smooth muscle cells of human umbilical cord and in cultured cells derived therefrom, with an analysis of the chromosomal locus containing the cytokeratin 19 gene". European Journal of Cell Biology. 47 (2): 300–19. PMID2468493.
Stasiak PC, Purkis PE, Leigh IM, Lane EB (May 1989). "Keratin 19: predicted amino acid sequence and broad tissue distribution suggest it evolved from keratinocyte keratins". The Journal of Investigative Dermatology. 92 (5): 707–16. doi:10.1111/1523-1747.ep12721500. PMID2469734.
Shezen E, Okon E, Ben-Hur H, Abramsky O (January 1995). "Cytokeratin expression in human thymus: immunohistochemical mapping". Cell and Tissue Research. 279 (1): 221–31. doi:10.1007/BF00300707. PMID7534649. S2CID23434233.
Ceratto N, Dobkin C, Carter M, Jenkins E, Yao XL, Cassiman JJ, Aly MS, Bosco P, Leube R, Langbein L, Feo S, Romano V (1997). "Human type I cytokeratin genes are a compact cluster". Cytogenetics and Cell Genetics. 77 (3–4): 169–74. doi:10.1159/000134566. PMID9284906.
Whittock NV, Eady RA, McGrath JA (January 2000). "Genomic organization and amplification of the human keratin 15 and keratin 19 genes". Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications. 267 (1): 462–5. doi:10.1006/bbrc.1999.1966. PMID10623642.