Transcriptional impact of iASPP knockout in mouse keratinocytes

iASPP (PPP1R13L) is an evolutionarily conserved regulator of p53 family members. In mice, iASPP deletion in keratin 14-expressing keratinocytes is sufficient to cause detrimental phenotypes with squamous epithelium abnormalities. In human skin, wild-type nuclear iASPP colocalizes with the key squamous differentiation regulatory factor, TP63, and iASPP mutations also show abnormalities in skin development. To clarify how iASPP influences the keratinocyte transcriptome, iASPP WT and iASPP KO primary mouse keratinocytes (MKC) were compared. Mouse keratinocytes (MKC) were isolated from mice carrying a tamoxifen-inducible iASPP deletion (Ppp1r13lflox/flox;Cre+ERT). For each of 3 batches, isolated keratinocytes were split in half and either treated with medium with or without tamoxifen to create iASPP KO and WT MKCs, respectively. Transcriptomes of these 3 replicates of iASPP KO and WT MKCs were then compared, and significant differentially expressed genes and enriched pathways were compared between the two conditions.