Mouse Models for Nail Disorders (Abstract)
John P. Sundberg and Philip Fleckman
Dermatology Online Journal 7(2): 21B

The mouse has become the premier biomedical tool and animal model for studying human diseases. Spontaneous mouse mutations and genetically engineered mice underlie these new model systems. A comparison between normal mouse and human nails revealed that the two are quite similar except for the small size and lateral flattening of the mouse nail structure. This structure has features of both nails and claws. Embryologically, the outline of the nail is evident by 16.5E with the nail plate beginning to form as early as 17.5E. A variety of nail abnormalities were determined in various mutations on inbred backgrounds including long, curved nails (onychogryphosis), separation of the nail bed and plate (onycholysis), traumatic separation of nail bed and plate associated with ulceration due to sensory deprivation, and squamous cell carcinoma. These mutant phenotypes and the known genetic mutations underlying them provide new tools and knowledge with which to better understand the pathogenesis and treatment of nail diseases in humans.

© 2001 Dermatology Online Journal