Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis was used to compare the changes in mouse epidermal proteins induced by the potent tumor promoter 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA), by the moderate promoter mechanical abrasion, and by the weakly promoting hyperplasiogenic agents mezerein and ethylphenylpropiolate. Evidence is presented which indicates that TPA caused many changes in the epidermal protein profiles especially related to the keratins which are the major differentiation product of the epidermis. The keratin modification progresses with time after TPA treatment, resulting in a keratin pattern which resembles that of newborn mouse epidermis. The criteria used for the identification of the keratins were extractability, isoelectric points, molecular weights, filament formation in vitro, immunological cross-reactivity, amino acid composition, and peptide mapping. Several other protein changes were evident in the more soluble epidermal proteins which were also prominent in the newborn epidermis. These protein alterations are observed not only early during the TPA induction of hyperplasia and inflammation at 48 and 72 hr but also in 1- and 2-week samples in which the morphology of the epidermis has returned to normal. Mezerein and abrasion produced protein changes similar to those induced by TPA. Ethylphenylpropiolate-induced protein modifications not only occurred at later times compared with either mezerein or TPA but also were less in magnitude. However, although many of the protein modifications induced by TPA appear to be associated with the hyperplasiogenic properties of TPA, the major difference between a potent promoter like TPA and a weak promoter like ethylphenylpropiolate appeared to be related to the magnitude of the response and the time of appearance of the protein changes.