Studies on stratum corneum metabolism: function, molecular mechanism and influencing factors
Qian Jiao BS
Key Laboratory of Cosmetic of China National Light Industry, College of Chemistry and Materials Engineering, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing, China
Search for more papers by this authorLizhi Yue MS
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Qilu Normal University, Shandong, China
Search for more papers by this authorLeilei Zhi MS
Shandong Huawutang Biological Technology Co., Ltd, Shandong, China
Search for more papers by this authorYufeng Qi MS
Shandong Huawutang Biological Technology Co., Ltd, Shandong, China
Search for more papers by this authorJie Yang MS
Shandong Huawutang Biological Technology Co., Ltd, Shandong, China
Search for more papers by this authorCheng Zhou MD
Department of Dermatology, Peking University People’s Hospital, Beijing, China
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Yan Jia PhD
Key Laboratory of Cosmetic of China National Light Industry, College of Chemistry and Materials Engineering, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing, China
Correspondence
Yan Jia, Key Laboratory of Cosmetic of China National Light Industry, College of Chemistry and Materials Engineering, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing 100048, China.
Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorQian Jiao BS
Key Laboratory of Cosmetic of China National Light Industry, College of Chemistry and Materials Engineering, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing, China
Search for more papers by this authorLizhi Yue MS
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Qilu Normal University, Shandong, China
Search for more papers by this authorLeilei Zhi MS
Shandong Huawutang Biological Technology Co., Ltd, Shandong, China
Search for more papers by this authorYufeng Qi MS
Shandong Huawutang Biological Technology Co., Ltd, Shandong, China
Search for more papers by this authorJie Yang MS
Shandong Huawutang Biological Technology Co., Ltd, Shandong, China
Search for more papers by this authorCheng Zhou MD
Department of Dermatology, Peking University People’s Hospital, Beijing, China
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Yan Jia PhD
Key Laboratory of Cosmetic of China National Light Industry, College of Chemistry and Materials Engineering, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing, China
Correspondence
Yan Jia, Key Laboratory of Cosmetic of China National Light Industry, College of Chemistry and Materials Engineering, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing 100048, China.
Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorFunding information
None.
Abstract
Background
Stratum corneum is located in the outermost layer of the skin and is the most important part of the skin barrier. Stratum corneum mainly contains keratinocytes, lipids, and desmosomes. Their normal metabolic process is closely related to the function of skin barrier.
Aims
This paper reviews the structure and function of stratum corneum, influencing factors, skin diseases, and common solutions.
Methods
An extensive literature search was conducted on the structure and function of stratum corneum, influencing factors, skin diseases, and common solutions.
Results
This paper reviews the structure and function of stratum corneum and the influence of various factors on stratum corneum metabolism. At the same time, the existing skin problems, skin diseases, and common solutions are summarized.
Conclusions
This information will help to understand the function, molecular mechanism, and influencing factors of stratum corneum metabolism, and provide new ideas for stratum corneum health management and cosmetic research and development.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Open Research
DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT
Data sharing not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.
REFERENCES
- 1Liu C, Gu L, Ding J, et al. Autophagy in skin barrier and immune-related skin diseases. J Dermatol. 2021; 48(12): 1827-1837.
- 2Harding C. The stratum corneum: structure and function in health and disease. Dermatol Ther. 2004; 17(Suppl 1): 6-15.
- 3Jiang Y, Tsoi L, Billi A, et al. Cytokinocytes: the diverse contribution of keratinocytes to immune responses in skin. JCI Insight. 2020; 5(20):e142067.
- 4Elias PM. Epidermal lipids, membranes, and keratinization. Int J Dermatol. 1981; 20(1): 1-19.
- 5Lane E, McLean W. Keratins and skin disorders. J Pathol. 2004; 204(4): 355-366.
- 6Moll R, Franke WW, Schiller DL, Geiger B, Krepler R. The catalog of human cytokeratins: patterns of expression in normal epithelia, tumors and cultured cells. Cell. 1982; 31(1): 11-24.
- 7Porter RM, Birgitte Lane E. Phenotypes, genotypes and their contribution to understanding keratin function. Trends Genet. 2003; 19(5): 278-285.
- 8Cui L, Jia Y, Cheng Z-W, et al. Advancements in the maintenance of skin barrier/skin lipid composition and the involvement of metabolic enzymes. J Cosmet Dermatol. 2016; 15(4): 549-558.
- 9Fuchs E. Epidermal differentiation: the bare essentials. J Cell Biol. 1990; 111(6 Pt 2): 2807-2814.
- 10Candi E, Schmidt R, Melino G. The cornified envelope: a model of cell death in the skin. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol. 2005; 6(4): 328-340.
- 11Syder A, Yu Q, Paller A, Giudice G, Pearson R, Fuchs E. Genetic mutations in the K1 and K10 genes of patients with epidermolytic hyperkeratosis. Correlation between location and disease severity. J Clin Investig. 1994; 93(4): 1533-1542.
- 12Richardson E, Lee J, Hyde P, Richard G. A novel mutation and large size polymorphism affecting the V2 domain of keratin 1 in an African-American family with severe, diffuse palmoplantar keratoderma of the ichthyosis hystrix Curth-Macklin type. J Invest Dermatol. 2006; 126(1): 79-84.
- 13Sehgal VN, Srivastava G. Darier's (Darier-White) disease/keratosis follicularis. Int J Dermatol. 2005; 44(3): 184-192.
- 14Da Hane T, Imai Y, Uchiyama R, Jitsukawa O, Yamanishi K. Activation of molecular signatures for antimicrobial and innate defense responses in skin with transglutaminase 1 deficiency. PLoS One. 2016; 11(7):e0159673.
- 15Crish JF, Gopalakrishnan R, Bone F, Gilliam AC, Eckert RL. The distal and proximal regulatory regions of the involucrin gene promoter have distinct functions and are required for in vivo involucrin expression. J Invest Dermatol. 2006; 126(2): 305-314.
- 16Djian P, Easley K, Green H. Targeted ablation of the murine involucrin gene. J Cell Biol. 2000; 151(2): 381-388.
- 17Koch PJ, de Viragh PA, Scharer E, et al. Lessons from loricrin-deficient mice: compensatory mechanisms maintaining skin barrier function. J Cell Biol. 2000; 151(2): 389.
- 18Sevilla LM, Nachat R, Groot KR, et al. Mice deficient in involucrin, envoplakin, and periplakin have a defective epidermal barrier. J Cell Biol. 2007; 179(7): 1599-1612.
- 19Smith FD, Irvine AD, Terron-Kwiatkowski A, et al. Loss-of-function mutations in the gene encoding filaggrin cause ichthyosis vulgaris. Nat Genet. 2006; 38(3): 337-342.
- 20Ishida-Yamamoto A, Takahashi H, Iizuka H. Loricrin and human skin diseases: molecular basis of loricrin keratodermas. Histol Histopathol. 1998; 13(3): 819-826.
- 21Suga Y, Jarnik M, Attar P, et al. Transgenic mice expressing a mutant form of loricrin reveal the molecular basis of the skin diseases, Vohwinkel syndrome and progressive symmetric erythrokeratoderma. J Cell Biol. 2000; 151(2): 401-412.
- 22Drake D, Brogden K, Dawson D, Wertz P. Thematic review series: skin lipids. Antimicrobial lipids at the skin surface. J Lipid Res. 2008; 49(1): 4-11.
- 23Camera E, Ludovici M, Galante M, Sinagra J, Picardo M. Comprehensive analysis of the major lipid classes in sebum by rapid resolution high-performance liquid chromatography and electrospray mass spectrometry. J Lipid Res. 2010; 51(11): 3377-3388.
- 24Brandner JM, Haftek M, Niessen CM. Adherens junctions, desmosomes and tight junctions in epidermal barrier function. Open Dermatol J. 2010; 4(1): 14-20.
- 25Ishida-Yamamoto A, Igawa S, Kishibe M, Honma M. Clinical and molecular implications of structural changes to desmosomes and corneodesmosomes. J Dermatol. 2018; 45(4): 385-389.
- 26Brattsand M, Stefansson K, Hubiche T, Nilsson SK, Egelrud T. SPINK9: a selective, skin-specific kazal-type serine protease inhibitor. J Invest Dermatol. 2009; 129(7): 1656-1665.
- 27Denda M, Sato J, Tsuchiya T, Elias P, Feingold K. Low humidity stimulates epidermal DNA synthesis and amplifies the hyperproliferative response to barrier disruption: implication for seasonal exacerbations of inflammatory dermatoses. J Invest Dermatol. 1998; 111(5): 873-878.
- 28Coderch L, De Pera M, Fonollosa J, De La Maza A, Parra J. Efficacy of stratum corneum lipid supplementation on human skin. Contact Dermatitis. 2002; 47(3): 139-146.
- 29Milstone LM. Epidermal desquamation. J Dermatol Sci. 2004; 36(3): 131-140.
- 30Jia Y, Gan Y, He C, Chen Z, Zhou C. The mechanism of skin lipids influencing skin status. J Dermatol Sci. 2018; 89(2): 112-119.
- 31Epstein EHJr, Williams ML, Elias PM. Steroid sulfatase, X-linked ichthyosis, and stratum corneum cell cohesion. Arch Dermatol. 1981; 117(12): 761-763.
- 32Elias PM, Williams ML, Maloney ME, et al. Stratum corneum lipids in disorders of cornification. Steroid sulfatase and cholesterol sulfate in normal desquamation and the pathogenesis of recessive X-linked ichthyosis. J Clin Investig. 1984; 74(4): 1414-1421.
- 33Marks R. Measurement of biological ageing in human epidermis. Br J Dermatol. 2010; 104(6): 627-633.
- 34Dao H, Kazin RA. Gender differences in skin: a review of the literature. Gend Med. 2007; 4(4): 308-328.
- 35Kao J, Garg A, Mao-Qiang M, et al. Testosterone perturbs epidermal permeability barrier homeostasis. J Invest Dermatol. 2001; 116(3): 443-451.
- 36Proksch E, Soeberdt M, Neumann C, Kilic A, Reich H, Abels C. Influence of buffers of different pH and composition on the murine skin barrier, epidermal proliferation, differentiation, and inflammation. Skin Pharmacol Physiol. 2019; 32(6): 328-336.
- 37Vicanova J, Boelsma E, Mommaas AM, et al. Normalization of epidermal calcium distribution profile in reconstructed human epidermis is related to improvement of terminal differentiation and stratum corneum barrier formation. J Invest Dermatol. 1998; 111(1): 97-106.
- 38Bikle DD, Xie Z, Tu C-L. Calcium regulation of keratinocyte differentiation. Expert Rev Endocrinol Metab. 2012; 7(4): 461-472.
- 39Elias PM, Ahn SK, Denda M, et al. Modulations in epidermal calcium regulate the expression of differentiation-specific markers. J Invest Dermatol. 2002; 119(5): 1128-1136.
- 40Hennings H, Holbrook KA. Calcium regulation of cell-cell contact and differentiation of epidermal cells in culture. An ultrastructural study. Exp Cell Res. 1983; 143(1): 127-142.
- 41Elsner P, Seyfarth F, Antonov D, John S, Diepgen T, Schliemann S. Development of a standardized testing procedure for assessing the irritation potential of occupational skin cleansers. Contact Dermatitis. 2014; 70(3): 151-157.
- 42Lee S, Park YK, Kim YK, Jin SK. An experimental study on corneocytes of acutely and chronically irritated skin. Arch Dermatol Res. 1983; 275(1): 49-52.
- 43Engebretsen K, Johansen J, Kezic S, Linneberg A, Thyssen J. The effect of environmental humidity and temperature on skin barrier function and dermatitis. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 2016; 30(2): 223-249.
- 44Piao M, Zhang R, Lee N, Hyun J. Protective effect of triphlorethol-A against ultraviolet B-mediated damage of human keratinocytes. J Photochem Photobiol, B. 2012; 106: 74-80.
- 45White-Chu EF, Reddy M. Dry skin in the elderly: complexities of a common problem. Clin Dermatol. 2011; 29(1): 37-42.
- 46Amin R, Lechner A, Vogt A, Blume-Peytavi U, Kottner J. Molecular characterization of xerosis cutis: a systematic review. PLoS One. 2021; 16(12):e0261253.
- 47Augustin M, Wilsmann-Theis D, Krber A, et al. Diagnosis and treatment of xerosis cutis – A position paper. J Dtsch Dermatol Ges. 2019; 17(S7): 3-33.
- 48Dreno B, Blouin E, Moyse D. Lithium gluconate 8% in the treatment of seborrheic dermatitis. Ann Dermatol Venereol. 2007; 134(4): 347-351.
- 49Aschoff R, Kempter W, Meurer M. Seborrheic dermatitis. Hautarzt. 2011; 62(4): 297-306.
- 50Borda LJ, Wikramanayake TC. Seborrheic dermatitis and dandruff: a comprehensive review. J Clin Investig Dermatol. 2015; 3(2): 3377-3388. doi:10.13188/2373-1044.1000019.
10.13188/2373?1044.1000019 Google Scholar
- 51Wang JF, Orlow SJ. Keratosis pilaris and its subtypes: associations, new molecular and pharmacologic etiologies, and therapeutic options. Am J Clin Dermatol. 2018; 19: 1-25.
- 52Sakuntabhai A, Ruiz-Perez V, Carter S, et al. Mutations in ATP2A2, encoding a Ca2+ pump, cause Darier disease. Nat Genet. 1999; 21(3): 271-277.
- 53Keith D, Armstrong B, McKenna KE, et al. Haploinsufficiency of desmoplakin causes a striate subtype of palmoplantar keratoderma. Hum Mol Genet. 1999; 8(1): 143-148.
- 54Akbar A, Prince C, Payne C, et al. Novel nonsense variants in SLURP1 and DSG1 cause palmoplantar keratoderma in Pakistani families. BMC Med Genet. 2019; 20(1): 145.
- 55翟 正绘, 李 炜, 庞 强. 去角质化妆品对皮肤摩擦性能的影响研究. 摩擦学学报. 2012; 32(6): 606-611.
- 56Miyazono S, Otani T, Ogata K, et al. The reduced susceptibility of mouse keratinocytes to retinoic acid may be involved in the keratinization of oral and esophageal mucosal epithelium. Histochem Cell Biol. 2020; 153(4): 225-237.
- 57Stremnitzer C, Manzano-Szalai K, Willensdorfer A, et al. Papain degrades tight junction proteins of human keratinocytes in vitro and sensitizes C57BL/6 mice via the skin independent of its enzymatic activity or TLR4 activation. J Invest Dermatol. 2015; 135(7): 1790-1800.
- 58Hwang Y, Lee Y, Lee Y, Choe Y, Ahn K. Treatment of acne scars and wrinkles in Asian patients using carbon-dioxide fractional laser resurfacing: its effects on skin biophysical profiles. Ann Dermatol. 2013; 25(4): 445-453.