Shanghai Skin Disease Hospital, Shanghai, China.
Kao (China) Research and Development Centre Co., Ltd, Shanghai, China.
Biomed Res Int. 2017;2017:3594629. doi: 10.1155/2017/3594629. Epub 2017 Oct 2.
The properties of infant skin regarding its structure and stratum corneum (SC) properties during development compared to adult skin have been reported only for a few races and body sites. The aim of this study was to understand the developmental changes of skin properties in Chinese infants, focusing on SC ceramides and protein secondary structure, which are important for skin barrier function. Three body sites with distinct characteristics (cheeks, inner upper arms, and buttocks) were assessed. Sixty pairs of Chinese infants and their mothers were measured for SC hydration, transepidermal water loss, ceramide levels, sebum with an ester bond, and protein secondary structure of superficial SC. Skin hydration decreased with age at all body sites. TEWL was similar between the 2-12- and 13-24-month-old groups but was higher than the adult group at the buttocks and inner upper arms and was equal to the adult group at the cheeks. These differences coincided with differences in protein secondary structure. Ceramide and sebum levels were lower in the infant groups. We conclude that both the SC functions and the components of infant skin are still developing and are not fully adapted as in adult skin at each body site examined.
婴儿皮肤的结构和角质层（SC）特性与成人皮肤相比，在不同种族和身体部位的研究中已有报道。本研究旨在了解中国婴儿皮肤特性的发育变化，重点研究对皮肤屏障功能很重要的 SC 神经酰胺和蛋白质二级结构。评估了三个具有明显特征的身体部位（脸颊、内上臂和臀部）。对 60 对中国婴儿及其母亲的 SC 水分、经表皮水分流失、神经酰胺水平、带有酯键的皮脂以及浅层 SC 蛋白质二级结构进行了测量。皮肤水分在所有身体部位均随年龄增长而降低。在 2-12 个月和 13-24 个月龄组，TEWL 相似，但在臀部和内上臂高于成人组，在脸颊与成人组相同。这些差异与蛋白质二级结构的差异一致。神经酰胺和皮脂水平在婴儿组较低。我们得出结论，在每个受检部位，SC 功能和婴儿皮肤的成分仍在发育，并未完全适应成人皮肤。
