The protein encoded by this gene is a member of the keratin gene family. As a type II hair keratin, it is a basic protein which heterodimerizes with type I keratins to form hair and nails. The type II hair keratins are clustered in a region of chromosome 12q13 and are grouped into two distinct subfamilies based on structure similarity. One subfamily, consisting of KRT81, KRT83, and KRT86, is highly related. The other, less-related subfamily includes KRT82, KRT84, and KRT85. All hair keratins are expressed in the hair follicle; this hair keratin, as well as KRT81 and KRT83, is found primarily in the hair cortex. Mutations in this gene and KRT81 have been observed in patients with a rare dominant hair disease, monilethrix.[7]
Rogers MA, Nischt R, Korge B, et al. (1995). "Sequence data and chromosomal localization of human type I and type II hair keratin genes". Exp. Cell Res. 220 (2): 357–62. doi:10.1006/excr.1995.1326. PMID7556444.
Rogers MA, Langbein L, Praetzel S, et al. (1997). "Sequences and differential expression of three novel human type-II hair keratins". Differentiation. 61 (3): 187–94. doi:10.1046/j.1432-0436.1997.6130187.x. PMID9084137.
Winter H, Rogers MA, Gebhardt M, et al. (1998). "A new mutation in the type II hair cortex keratin hHb1 involved in the inherited hair disorder monilethrix". Hum. Genet. 101 (2): 165–9. doi:10.1007/s004390050607. PMID9402962. S2CID20555394.