The lipids of mammalian stratum corneum are known to be important regulators of skin permeability. Since the human stratum corneum displays remarkable regional variations in skin permeability, we assessed the total lipid concentration, the distribution of all major lipid species, and the fatty acid composition in Bligh-Dyer extracts from four skin sites (abdomen, leg, face, and sole) that are k...

Cultured epidermal keratinocytes provide an abundant supply of biologic material for wound treatment. Because restoration of barrier function is a definitive criterion for efficacy of wound closure and depends on the lipids present in the epidermis, we analyzed lipid composition of the epidermis in cultured skin substitutes in vitro and after grafting to athymic mice. The cultured skin substitu...

The outermost layer of the skin, the stratum corneum (SC), is a lipid-protein membrane that experiences considerable osmotic stress from a dry and cold climate. The natural moisturizing factor (NMF) comprises small and polar substances, which like osmolytes can protect living systems from osmotic stress. NMF is commonly claimed to increase the water content in the SC and thereby protect the ski...

BACKGROUND Excessive generation of radical oxygen species (ROS) is a contributor to skin pathologies. Resveratrol (RSV) is a potent antioxidant. Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) and nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) can ensure close contact and increase the amount of drug absorbed into the skin. In this study, RSV was loaded into SLN and NLC for dermal applications. METHODS Nanoparticles wer...

BACKGROUND Problems of skin aging and its prevention currently attract increasing attention with the growth of human life expectancy. The morphology of the stratum corneum (SC) is well known, but investigation of age-related changes of its structure is difficult in the absence of non-invasive sampling methods. The residual skin surface components (RSSC) that overlay the SC can be easily collect...

A compromised skin barrier plays a major role in many dermatoses including irritant and allergic contact dermatitis, atopic dermatitis, dry skin, aged skin, xerosis, rosacea, and acne [1–5]. Many of these conditions share common defects in the skin barrier and an association with inflammation [4,6]. The knowledge we have regarding specific lipid deficiencies, pH aberration, inflammation, irregu...

Harlequin ichthyosis (HI)--the most severe form of keratinizing disorders, often lethal in the neonatal period--is characterized by a profound thickening of the keratin skin layer, a dense "armor"-like scale that covers the body, and contraction abnormalities of the eyes, ears, and mouth. In this issue of the JCI, Akiyama et al. report that mutations in ABCA12 caused defective lipid transport t...

The skin's outer layer of stratum corneum, which is a thin tissue containing multilamellar lipid bilayers, is the main barrier to drug delivery to the skin. To increase skin permeability, our previous work has shown large enhancement of transdermal permeation using a pore-forming peptide, magainin, which was formulated with N-lauroyl sarcosine (NLS) in 50% ethanol-in-PBS. Mechanistic analysis s...

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of dietary grape skin on lipid peroxidation and antioxidant defense system in rats fed high fat diet. The Sprague-Dawley rats were fed either control (5% fat) diet or high fat (25% fat) diet which was based on AIN-93 diet for 2 weeks, and then they were grouped as control group (C), control + 5% grape skin group (CS), high-fat group (HF), high ...