Implications of Sm22α-Cre expression in keratinocytes and unanticipated inflammatory skin lesion in a model of atherosclerosis

Abstract

Although Sm22α-Cre is commonly used to target gene deletion in smooth muscle cells, Sm22α-derived Adam17 deletion resulted in unexpected severe skin lesions following high-fat diet feeding in a model of atherosclerosis. Adam17 deletion by a different SMC driver, Myh11-Cre, did not result in skin lesions in the same atherosclerosis model. Sm22α is highly expressed in keratinocytes, causing ectopic loss of ADAM17 in keratinocytes that caused significant epidermal lesions when combined with a high-fat diet.