Anchoring fibrils are structures in skin that consist largely of collagen VII. They extend from the epidermal basement membrane to the dermal stroma where they connect with reticular fibre bundles, largely composed of collagen III (Fleischmajer et al. 1980). The long loop region of collagen VII entraps fibrillar collagens in the papillary dermis (Burgeson 1993). Type VII collagen binds laminin-332 (laminin-5) through the beta3 short arm, and also binds both type IV collagen and interstitial banded collagen fibrils - represented here by their major constituent, collagen I (Nakishima et al. 2005, Brittingham et al. 2006, Villone et al. 2008). Mutations of collagen VII are a cause of dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa, a blistering skin disease where separation occurs in the dermis at the level of anchoring fibrils (Chung & Uitto 2010, Uitto et al. 2010).
Bruckner-Tuderman, L, Bruckner, P, Villone, D, Hansen, U, Koch, M, Fritsch, A
Kariya, Y, Nakashima, Y, Miyazaki, K, Yasuda, C
Uitto, J, Brittingham, R, Fertala, A
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