Department of Dermatology, Gifu University School of Medicine, Gifu, Japan.
J Dermatol. 2010 Oct;37(10):873-81. doi: 10.1111/j.1346-8138.2010.00875.x.
The corneodesmosomes in the stratum corneum are critical for the maintenance of stratum corneum integrity. To evaluate the normal and diseased keratinization states in the epidermis, we studied the distribution of desmoglein 1 (DSG1), a major component of corneodesmosomes, in samples of the stratum corneum obtained by tape stripping, a non-invasive method. Samples were collected from lesional skin of four patients with psoriasis and three with lichen planus, and from non-lesional skin of three volunteers. Upper stratum corneum cells were obtained by tape stripping and skin biopsies were obtained from adjacent sites. Tape-stripped samples were examined by immunofluorescence microscopy using anti-DSG1 monoclonal antibody, in combination with histopathology of skin biopsies. In normal human stratum corneum, which shows basket-woven orthokeratosis, DSG1-containing fluorescent dots were distributed on the lateral cell-cell contact areas of plasma membrane, but not on the dorsal/ventral plasma membrane, and formed a well-ordered hexagonal network structure. In psoriatic stratum corneum, fluorescent dots were distributed throughout the cell membrane at ventral aspects of corneocytes as well as at the lateral cell-cell contacts. In lichen planus, fluorescent dots were distributed homogeneously and/or heterogeneously on the ventral surface in some cells. Adjacent cells lacked DSG1 at the lateral cell-cell contacts, but were instead separated by distinctive black-gap lines. These results suggest that the intercellular adhesion by DSG1 may depend on the lateral plasma membrane in normal human stratum corneum, on the dorsal/ventral plasma membrane in lichen planus, and on both lateral and dorsal/ventral plasma membranes in psoriatic stratum corneum. Tape stripping and DSG1 immunofluorescence visualizes adhesion features of corneocytes and has considerable potential for evaluation of abnormal keratinization and the process of healing in response to treatment.
角质细胞间桥粒中的桥粒芯糖蛋白 1（desmoglein 1，DSG1）对于维持角质层的完整性至关重要。为了评估表皮的正常和病变角化状态，我们研究了 DSG1 在经胶带剥离获得的角质层样本中的分布，胶带剥离是一种非侵入性方法。从四名银屑病患者和三名扁平苔藓患者的皮损皮肤以及三名志愿者的非皮损皮肤中采集样本。用胶带剥离获得上层角质层细胞，并从相邻部位获取皮肤活检。用抗 DSG1 单克隆抗体对胶带剥离样本进行免疫荧光显微镜检查，结合皮肤活检的组织病理学检查。在正常人类角质层中，DSG1 阳性荧光斑点分布在细胞膜的侧向细胞-细胞接触区，但不在背/腹细胞膜上，形成有序的六边形网络结构。在银屑病角质层中，荧光斑点分布在角质细胞的腹侧面以及侧向细胞-细胞接触区。在扁平苔藓中，在一些细胞的腹面，荧光斑点呈均匀或不均匀分布。相邻细胞在侧向细胞-细胞接触处缺乏 DSG1，但取而代之的是独特的黑隙线。这些结果表明，DSG1 介导的细胞间黏附可能取决于正常人类角质层中的侧向细胞膜、扁平苔藓中的背/腹细胞膜以及银屑病角质层中的侧向和背/腹细胞膜。胶带剥离和 DSG1 免疫荧光可直观显示角质细胞的黏附特征，对于评估异常角化和治疗反应中的愈合过程具有很大的潜力。
