Homozygous
disruption of p63 in mice results in early post-natal lethality
due to a complete lack of all stratified epithelia and ectodermal
appendages, including hair, mammary glands and
teeth, in addition to severe craniofacial defects and limb
truncation. While the two original studies of a p63
knockout mouse described the same gross phenotypes,
Dennis Roop’s group did not detect differentiated stratified
epithelial cells, and thus concluded that p63 is
required for differentiation. On the other hand,
Frank McKeon’s group detected small patches of differentiated
skin and concluded that p63 is important for
proliferation potential