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What is a Keratin Infection?

Published in Keratin-Related Infections 3 mins read

A keratin infection isn't a single, specific infection but rather describes infections caused by organisms that utilize keratin for growth or infections that affect keratin-producing tissues. Keratin is a protein forming the structural component of skin, hair, and nails. Several types of infections relate to keratin:

Fungal Infections

  • Dermatophyte Infections: Dermatophytes are fungi that require keratin for growth. They cause superficial infections of the skin, hair, and nails (tinea infections like athlete's foot, ringworm). These fungi are spread through direct contact with infected people, animals, or soil, or indirectly via contaminated objects. [Source: Dermatophytes are fungi that require keratin for growth. These fungi can cause superficial infections of the skin, hair, and nails. Dermatophytes are spread by direct contact from other people (anthropophilic organisms), animals (zoophilic organisms), and soil (geophilic organisms), as well as indirectly from fomites.01-Jan-2003]

Bacterial Infections

  • Infected Epidermoid Cysts: Epidermoid cysts are fluid-filled sacs under the skin containing keratin. If a cyst breaks open, it can lead to a bacterial infection, requiring treatment. [Source: A cyst that breaks open can lead to a boil-like infection that needs prompt treatment.]
  • Infected Wounds: Research explores using keratin hydrogels with antibiotics (like ciprofloxacin) to treat infected wounds, particularly burns. This highlights that bacterial infections can occur in keratin-rich tissues and that keratin-based materials can be used therapeutically in these cases. [Source: Here we develop a porcine model of an infected partial-thickness burn to test the effects of ciprofloxacin-loaded keratin hydrogels on infection and wound… ]

Viral Infections

  • Papillomavirus Infections: Studies suggest that specific keratin proteins (like keratin 17) can influence the ability of papillomaviruses (which cause warts) to evade the immune system and cause persistent infections. [Source: Our data provide a novel mechanism by which papillomavirus-infected cells evade host immunity and defines new therapeutic targets for treating persistent… ]
  • Avian Keratin Disorder (AKD): In black-capped chickadees, a novel picornavirus has been associated with AKD, a condition affecting feather keratin. [Source: We previously identified an association between infection with a novel picornavirus, Poecivirus, and AKD in a small cohort of black-capped chickadees.]

Keratin and Immune Response

  • Antimicrobial Peptides: Research shows that certain keratin-derived antimicrobial peptides (KAMPs) might help fight bacterial infections and inflammation. This highlights the potential of keratin to play a role in the body's defense mechanisms against infection. [Source: We hypothesized that keratin 6a-derived antimicrobial peptides (KAMPs) may be a two-pronged remedy capable of tackling bacterial infection and inflammation at… ]

Therefore, "keratin infection" isn't a specific disease but a broad term encompassing infections involving keratin-producing tissues or those pathogens that rely on keratin for growth or survival.