Skin volcano

Skin volcano

Abigail Fitzsimons

Actinic keratosis (AK) is a precancerous lesion caused by sun exposure that can develop into cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, a type of skin cancer. This is a hypertrophic AK, which would appear on the skin like a raised horn – giving it a volcano appearance. You can see thickened epidermis (top layer of the skin) and finger-like ridges that reach deeper into the skin as the lesion progress. Here it is stained for LC3 and p62, two important proteins that drive the process of autophagy. [Image taken using Cell DIVE]