Skin blisters and hair loss in a rat mutant called vibrissaeless

A radiation-induced autosomal recessive mutant in the rat called vibrissaeless (vb), has been described and studied. Mutants have abnormal hair growth, the hairs being reduced in number and length. Mutant animals form blisters which then erode, crust, and heal without scars. The blisters can be artificially produced by friction and result from intraepidermal separation which is suprabasilar in position. To date, we cannot correlate this abnormality in rats with any known inherited human blistering disease.