Research Paper Volume 13, Issue 5 pp 6406—6419

Figure 1. The mice ablated CRBN gene exhibits decreased levels of skin hydration. (A) The appearance of the back skin to compare the control WT and CRBN KO groups, respectively. (B) Relative initial Stratum Corneum Hydration (SCH) level in the skin of control WT and CRBN KO mouse skin. (C) Representative image of H&E and Masson’s trichrome stained section showing the structure of the epidermis and the dermis from the back skin of 12-weeks old female mice. (D) Analysis of the level of collagen fibers in the skin section in (C). (E) Western blots analysis using the protein lysate from the mouse skin. Proteins were subjected to immunoblotting using the anti-CRBN, anti-MMP1, anti-Collagen type1, and β-actin antibodies. The β-actin was used as a loading control. (F) Relative band intensities determined by densitometric-analysis of each protein in blot (E). The results shown are representative images of independent experiments (n=5). Scale bar = 100μm. *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; ***P < 0.005; n.s., not significant.