Figure 1

Differentiation of COCA murine epidermal keratinocytes. A) Phase contrast micrographs (upper panel) showing COCA murine keratinocytes from passage 76 (P, denotes passage) growing in low (0.07 mM) or high (1.2 mM) calcium medium at the indicated times, and re-stimulated to grow with low calcium medium for an additional 24 h. Expression of differentiation markers was studied by immunofluorescence. In blue, nuclei stained with DAPI; in green, the early differentiation marker K10; in red, the terminal differentiation marker loricrin. Scale bar: 200 μm. All micrographs were taken at the same scale. B) Percentage of BrdU incorporation in keratinocytes growing under the indicated conditions. At least 1,000 cells from 5-10 different fields were scored in each time point (mean ± standard error). Student's t-test; * p < 0.05 vs. P21 in 0.07 mM Ca²⁺; ♦ p < 0.05 vs. P21 in 24 h 1.2 mM Ca²⁺.