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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2011 Jan 1.
Published in final edited form as: Dermatol Clin. 2010 Jan;28(1):43–54. doi: 10.1016/j.det.2009.10.005

Figure 1.

Figure 1

Schematic representation of the attachment complexes at the dermal-epidermal basement membrane zone, which form a continuous network of interacting proteins necessary for stable association of epidermis and dermis at the dermal-epidermal junction. Note the presence of hemidesmosomal components, plectin, α6β4 integrin, and the type XVII collagen/the 180 kD bullous pemphigoid antigen 2 (BPAG2). The critical role of the hemidesmosomal proteins in the integrity of the skin is indicated by mutations in the corresponding genes that result in dermal-epidermal separation. (Adapted from Pulkkinen L, Uitto J. Hemidesmosomal variants of epidermolysis bullosa. Mutations in the alpha6beta4 integrin and the 180-kD bullous pemphigoid antigen/type XVII collagen genes. Exp Dermatol 1998;7:46–64., with permission)