Department of Pharmaceutical Biochemistry, Medical University of Gdansk, Gdansk, Poland.
Department of Environmental Analytics, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Gdansk, Gdańsk, Poland.
Acta Biochim Pol. 2022 Sep 13;69(3):657-671. doi: 10.18388/abp.2020_6131.
The epidermis forms the barrier between an organism and its external environment. Although one of the major functional elements of the epidermis is the lipid-enriched extracellular matrix, containing mainly ceramides, cholesterol (CHOL) and free fatty acids, the data are limited regarding the lipid profile in the epidermis. The aim of the study was to determine the whole profile of fatty acids (FAs) in the epidermis and to examine any dependence according to the age of the subject and the site on the epidermis.
Epidermis extracts obtained from 10 adults and 6 children were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.
In total, 74 FAs in the human epidermis were identified. We observed the highest amounts of neutral lipids (including CHOL) compared to other lipid fractions in the epidermis, regardless of age. However, we detected an age-dependent content of the major lipid fractions, where the main difference was in the levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids. There were also differences in the lipid profile between various sites of the body, e.g. samples from the breast and abdomen were enriched with very long-chain fatty acids compared to the limb.
Our research provides novel data concerning the lipid profile in the epidermis, gives further insight into skin biology and proves that the epidermis is a highly dynamic structure.
表皮形成生物体与其外部环境之间的屏障。尽管表皮的主要功能元素之一是富含脂质的细胞外基质，主要包含神经酰胺、胆固醇（CHOL）和游离脂肪酸，但有关表皮脂质谱的数据有限。本研究旨在确定表皮中脂肪酸（FA）的全谱，并根据受试者的年龄和表皮部位检查任何依赖性。
通过气相色谱-质谱法分析从 10 名成年人和 6 名儿童获得的表皮提取物。
共鉴定出 74 种人表皮中的 FA。我们观察到无论年龄大小，中性脂质（包括 CHOL）的含量均高于其他脂质馏分。然而，我们检测到主要脂质馏分的年龄依赖性含量，主要区别在于多不饱和脂肪酸的水平。身体各部位的脂质谱也存在差异，例如与四肢相比，乳房和腹部的样本富含超长链脂肪酸。
我们的研究提供了有关表皮脂质谱的新数据，进一步深入了解了皮肤生物学，并证明了表皮是一个高度动态的结构。
