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Intercellular junctions and the permeability barrier in human sebaceous glands
The British Journal of Dermatology
|May 1, 1984
Summary
Human sebaceous glands lack tight junctions. Instead, secreted lipids likely form the skin's essential permeability barrier, crucial for skin barrier function research.
Area of Science:
- Dermatology
- Cell Biology
- Histology
Background:
- Sebaceous glands are integral to skin physiology.
- Understanding the skin barrier is vital for dermatology.
- The permeability barrier's formation mechanism requires elucidation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the ultrastructural basis of the human sebaceous gland permeability barrier.
- To identify the intercellular junctions present in sebaceous glands.
Main Methods:
- Electron microscopy was employed.
- Lanthanum tracer and freeze-fracture techniques were utilized.
Main Results:
- Gap junctions were identified between sebaceous gland cells.
- No tight junctions were observed in the studied glands.
- Sebaceous neutral lipids are secreted by these glands.
Conclusions:
- The absence of tight junctions suggests an alternative barrier mechanism.
- Secreted sebaceous neutral lipids are proposed to form the essential permeability barrier.
- This finding impacts our understanding of skin barrier function and lipid biology.