Skin, as the organ protecting the individual from environmental aggressions, constantly
meets external insults and is dependent on mechanical toughness for its preserved function.
Accordingly, the epidermal basement membrane (BM) zone has adapted to enforce tissue
integrity. It harbors anchoring structures created through unique organization of common BM
components and expression of proteins exclusive to the epidermal BM zone. Evidence for
the importance of its correct assembly and the nonredundancy of its components for skin …