Cell proliferation of epidermis, hair follicles, and sebaceous glands of beagles and cocker spaniels with healthy skin.

Cell proliferation kinetic values were established for the epidermis, hair follicle epithelium, and sebaceous glands of 10 Beagles and 4 Cocker Spaniels with healthy skin and coats. Values were established by intradermal pulse-labeling injections of [3H]thymidine, examination of cutaneous biopsied tissues, and autoradiography. The epidermal basal cell-labeling index was 1.41 +/- 0.46% for Beagles and 1.71 +/- 0.56% for Cocker Spaniels. The hair follicle basal cell-labeling index was 1.46 +/- 0.78 and 1.07 +/- 0.42%, respectively. Calculated epidermal cell-renewal time for viable layers of the epidermis was 23.38 +/- 5.93 days for Beagles and 20.97 +/- 4.92 days for Cocker Spaniels. Differences between cell kinetic data for the 2 breeds were not significant (P greater than 0.05). The basal cell-labeling index for the sebaceous gland was significantly (P = 0.009) lower for Cocker Spaniels (0.40 +/- 0.18%) than for Beagles (1.81 +/- 1.08%). Seemingly, epidermal and follicular cell proliferation kinetics in healthy dogs was similar between the 2 breeds, whereas sebaceous gland basal cells were less proliferative in healthy Cocker Spaniels than in healthy Beagles.