Keratin 79 (KRT79)

Keratins, such as KRT6L, are filament proteins that make up one of the major structural fibers of epithelial cells . Using database analysis to identify keratin genes within the type II keratin gene domain on chromosome 12, Rogers et al. (2005) identified KRT6L, which they called K6L.

The deduced 535-amino acid protein has a calculated molecular mass of 57.8 kD. Like other type II keratins, K6L has N- and C-terminal domains and a central rod domain consisting of 4 alpha-helical regions separated by 3 non-helical linker sequences. In addition, it has numerous GGG and GGX repeats in its head and tail domains. Northern blot analysis detected expression of a 2.1-kb K6L transcript in skeletal muscle, skin, and scalp, but not in any other tissues or organs examined.