Cytokeratin-16 is a type I cytoskeletal protein. It is used as a marker for epidermal hyperplasia, a characteristic which is associated with various inflammatory skin diseases such as atopic dermatitis and psoriasis, see [1]. In contrast, CK16 protein expression in normal epidermis is very low or absent.
This protocol can be used for quantifying the epidermal expression of CK16. It divides the CK16 staining intensity into four categories: no staining (negative), low staining intensity (1+), medium staining intensity (2+), and high staining intensity (3+). An intensity score is calculated based on the categories.