Ca2؉ is an essential factor inducing keratinocyte differentiation due to the natural Ca 2؉ gradient in the skin. However, the membrane mechanisms that mediate calcium entry and trigger keratinocyte differentiation had not previously been elucidated.In this study we demonstrate that Ca 2؉ -induced differentiation up-regulates both mRNA and protein expression of a transient receptor potential highly Ca 2؉ -selective channel, TRPV6. The latter mediates Ca 2؉ uptake and accounts for the basal [Ca 2؉ ] i in human keratinocytes. Our results show that TRPV6 is a prerequisite for keratinocyte entry into differentiation, because the silencing of TRPV6 in human primary keratinocytes led to the development of impaired differentiated phenotype triggered by Ca 2؉ . The expression of such differentiation markers as involucrin, transglutaminase-1, and cytokeratin-10 was significantly inhibited by small interfering RNA-TRPV6 as compared with differentiated control cells. TRPV6 silencing affected cell morphology and the development of intercellular contacts, as well as the ability of cells to stratify. 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3, a cofactor of differentiation, dose-dependently increased TRPV6 mRNA and protein expression in human keratinocytes. This TRPV6 up-regulation led to a significant increase in Ca 2؉ uptake in both undifferentiated and differentiated keratinocytes. We conclude that TRPV6 mediates, at least in part, the pro-differentiating effects of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 by increasing Ca 2؉ entry, thereby promoting differentiation. Taken together, these data suggest that the TRPV6 channel is a key element in Ca 2؉ /1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3-induced differentiation of human keratinocytes.Human epidermis is the largest tissue of the body responsible for barrier function and is primarily composed of keratinocytes. Keratinocytes are arranged in highly organized, specialized layers according to their functions and the programmed life cycle. Proliferating keratinocytes comprise the stratum basale. As a result of proliferation, keratinocytes leave the stratum basale, moving toward the exterior with the onset of differentiation in the stratum spinosum. Differentiation is completed in the stratum granulosum, thereby constituting the enucleated stratum corneum, which plays the major role of permeability barrier.A number of auto-and paracrine factors drive keratinocyte differentiation. Calcium and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, an active metabolite of vitamin D, play important roles in this process (1). Cytosolic Ca 2ϩ signaling is well known to control a wide array of cell functions, ranging from shortterm responses such as contraction and secretion to longerterm regulation of cell growth and proliferation (2). The epidermis has a calcium gradient, with the lowest concentrations in the stratum basale and the highest in the stratum granulosum, where the proteins critical for barrier function are produced (3, 4). The keratinocyte response to extracellular calcium, i.e. "calcium switch" that induces differentiation, is not fully understood....