Roles of dystonin isoforms in the maintenance of neural, muscle, and cutaneous tissues.

Dystonin (DST), also known as bullous pemphigoid antigen 1 (BPAG1), encodes cytoskeletal linker proteins belonging to the plakin family. The DST gene produces several isoforms, including DST-a, DST-b, and DST-e, which are expressed in neural, muscle, and cutaneous tissues, respectively. Pathogenic DST mutations cause hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathy type 6 (HSAN-VI) and epidermolysis bullosa simplex (EBS); therefore, it is important to elucidate the roles of DST isoforms in multiple organs. Recently, we have used several Dst mutant mouse strains, in which the expression of Dst isoforms is disrupted in distinct patterns, to gain new insight into how DST functions in multiple tissues. This review provides an overview of the roles played by tissue-specific DST isoforms in neural, muscle, and cutaneous tissues.