Constellation, le dépôt institutionnel de l'Université du Québec à Chicoutimi

Résumé

Epidermolysis bullosa simplex (EBS) is a dominantly inherited skin disease caused by mutations in the keratin 5 (KRT5) or KRT14 genes 1. Some reports suggested that fever and/or hot weather may exacerbate EBS phenotype 2. Effective EBS therapies are still lacking. Molecular chaperones are proteins whose main function is to promote the correct folding of polypeptides (s1). Molecules such as trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) and sodium 4-phenylbutyrate (4-PBA) act as chemical chaperones (s2) with protein folding and stabilization activities (s3, s4, s5). Treatment of affected epidermal cells by chemical chaperones to correct the misfolded and aggregated keratins that characterize EBS seems a viable therapeutic option 3. Furthermore, the type I keratins K16 and K17 polymerize with K5, and upregulation of these proteins could replace the mutant K14 in the heterodimer and improve disease pathology (s6). Hence, chemical chaperones which can reduce keratin aggregates formation and upregulate K16 and K17 in EBS-affected cells would be ideal therapeutic candidates for EBS.