The Kelch Surprise: KLHL24, a New Player in the Pathogenesis of Skin Fragility

A new protein, kelch-like 24, has recently been associated with a distinct subtype of epidermolysis bullosa simplex, a heterogeneous group of disorders associated with mechanical fragility of epidermal keratinocytes. All mutations involve the translation initiation codon and lead to a degradation-resistant N-terminally truncated kelch-like 24. Kelch-like 24 appears to be involved in the turnover of intermediated filaments, in particular of keratin 14, in keratinocytes.