Related Experiment Videos
Interaction between sphingosine and cholesteryl sulfate in epidermal lipids
D T Downing1, R W Dose, W Abraham
1Marshall Dermatology Research Laboratories, University of Iowa College of Medicine, Iowa City 52242.
Journal of Lipid Research
|April 1, 1993
Summary
Free sphingosine in the skin
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Dermatology
- Lipid Science
Background:
- Sphingosine, a biologically active lipid, is abundant in mammalian epidermis.
- Its precise form and function within the stratum corneum remain incompletely understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the interactions of sphingosine within the stratum corneum.
- To determine the chemical form of sphingosine in human and pig skin lipids.
Main Methods:
- Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) was used to analyze lipid extracts.
- Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectrometry characterized molecular interactions.
Main Results:
- Sphingosine forms stable, undissociated salts with cholesteryl sulfate in the stratum corneum.
- This salt formation is specific to organic sulfates and long-chain bases, not fatty acids.
- The salt is stable under neutral to weakly acidic conditions.
Conclusions:
- Free sphingosine in the stratum corneum likely exists as cholesteryl sulfate salt.
- This bound form may limit sphingosine's permeation into viable epidermal cells.