Acta Derm Venereol 2000; Supp 208: 44±45 Desquamation in the Stratum Corneum TORBJOÈ RN EGELRUD Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Dermatology and Venereology, UmeaÊ University, UmeaÊ, Sweden To maintain a constant thickness of the stratum corneum the In order to understand desquamation we will have to desquamation rate and the de novo production of corneocytes is identify mechanisms of cell cohesion in the stratum corneum, delicately balanced. Using a plantar stratum corneum model we the structures involved, and the changes these structures have obtained evidence that proteolysis is a central event in the undergo as cell cohesion decreases. We must then identify the desquamation process. A number of regulatory mechanisms for chemical reactions taking place, which would immediately desquamation have been postulated based on our ®ndings. give us information regarding the nature of the involved (Accepted September 20, 1999.) enzymes. Using pieces of plantar stratum corneum we have Acta Derm Venereol 2000; Supp 208: 44±45. developed a simple model system [1] in which some basic Professor TorbjoÈrn Egelrud, MD, Ph.D, Dept. events in desquamation can be studied. In addition to Dermatology, University of UmeaÊ, 90185, UmeaÊ, Sweden. information about the enzyme(-s) involved in stratum E-mail:
[email protected] corneum cell dissociation, the system has provided informa- tion about the nature of the cohesive structures in the stratum corneum. An important ®nding was that corneocyte cohesion is mediated to a large extent by protein structures, i.e. the modi®ed desmosomes of the stratum corneum [2, 3]. This INTRODUCTION implied that proteolysis may be a central event in desquama- The building blocks of the stratum corneum, the corneocytes, tion.