For 10 points, identify this protein, a major component of tough outer coverings like scales, claws, nails, and hair.
The blistering disorder epidermolysis bullosa simplex results from defective versions of this protein in the basal cell layer of the epidermis, and anucleate cells filled with this protein accumulate at the epidermal surface in a process known as cornification. Â Acidic type I chains of this protein form heterodimers with the basic chains of its type II. Â Those (*) coiled-coil heterodimers arrange antiparallel to one another, forming tetramers, the fundamental subunit of this protein's filaments, which anchor intermediate filaments at desmosomes and hemidesmosomes. Â Filaments of this protein also form tightly cross-linked networks held together by disulfide bonds between its abundant cysteine residues. Â For 10 points, identify this protein, a major component of tough outer coverings like scales, claws, nails, and hair.
The blistering disorder epidermolysis bullosa simplex results from defective versions of this protein in the basal cell layer of the epidermis, and anucleate cells filled with this protein accumulate at the epidermal surface in a process known as cornification.
keratin