Hemophilia B is an X-linked recessive bleeding disorder affecting about 1 in every 30000 males and is caused by the functional deficiency of coagulation factor IX. The accessibility of keratinocytes and the availability of thechniques for their manipulation have made them appealing for ex vivo gene expression strategies for systemic release of a protein interest. Keratin 14 and keratin 5 are major proteins expressed in keratinocytes. Their corresponding regulatory elements are especially attractive candidates for keratinocyte- mediated gene expression. In the present work, we haveconstructed a keratinocyte-specific expression plasmid equipped with the human K14 promoter, followed by insertion of human FIX cDNA downstream to the K14 promoter.

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