epidermal keratinocyte
epidermal keratinocyte
A keratinocyte of the skin epidermis that synthesizes keratin and undergoes successive stages of differentiation as it migrates from the basal layer to the cornified (stratum corneum) layer. These differentiation stages include the basal, spinous (prickle), and granular cell layers. This cell is central to epidermal homeostasis, mediating wound healing, immune modulation, including the secretion of cytokines and chemokines that recruit neutrophils (Simmons and Gallo, 2024), and intercellular communication with adjacent melanocytes (Marrapodi and Bellei, 2024).