How skin achieves mechano-resistance for land movement: the critical role of ER sensing

TL;DR

This paper explores how skin evolved to resist mechanical stress, focusing on a protein called SLURP1 that helps protect skin cells during movement on land.

Contribution

The study identifies SLURP1 as a novel ER protein that prevents mechanical stress in skin cells by maintaining SERCA2b activity and inhibiting pPERK-NRF2 signaling.

Findings

SLURP1 preserves SERCA2b activity in palmoplantar keratinocytes under mechanical pressure.

SLURP1 inhibits pPERK-NRF2 signaling to protect skin cells from mechanical stress.

The protein plays a critical role in enabling skin to withstand body weight during terrestrial movement.

Abstract

To adapt to gravitational forces during the transition to terrestrial life, animals evolved specialized paw skin to withstand their body weight and allow for locomotion. In a recent Cell article, Di et al. demonstrate SLURP1 as an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane protein that protects palmoplantar keratinocytes from mechanical stress by preserving SERCA2b activity and inhibiting the pPERK-NRF2 signaling under mechanical pressure.