The largest organ in the body is the skin
Its typical size is about 20 square feet, which is equivalent to a room that is 4 feet by 5 feet. A lipid matrix made up of free fatty acids, cholesterol, and ceramides is present in the epidermis, the outermost layer of the skin (hop a family of waxy lipid molecules).
According to two recent research, skin develops differently on various body parts, including the face, underarms, palms of our hands, and feet. Researchers discovered that the differences directly affect how various skin disorders manifest throughout the body by profiling the alterations in the skin.
Emanual Maverakis, professor of dermatology and molecular medical microbiology at UC Davis and senior author on both papers, stated that skin does not have a homogeneous composition throughout the body. Different skin qualities at various bodily regions may influence how susceptible the skin is to specific diseases.
About 84.5 million Americans suffer from skin conditions. There are many different skin conditions that can be caused by ageing, trauma, environmental causes, and genetics.
Skin structure, function, and disease susceptibility are determined by body site.
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| Researchers discovered that the differences directly affect how various skin disorders manifest throughout the body by profiling the alterations in the skin. |
The largest organ in the body is the skin. Its typical size is about 20 square feet, which is equivalent to a room that is 4 feet by 5 feet. A lipid matrix made up of free fatty acids, cholesterol, and ceramides is present in the epidermis, the outermost layer of the skin (a family of waxy lipid molecules).
Each portion of the body has particular environmental requirements that this layer must meet. In order to accommodate facial expressions, for instance, the skin of the face must be thin and flexible. To endure pressure and shield the foot's heel from objects we step on, the skin covering the heel must be thick and robust.
The structure of the skin barrier, the types of cells, and the genes they express are only a few of the many variables that affect the composition of the skin.
Little was previously understood about the cellular and molecular mechanisms behind these variations. Researchers initially identified the mechanisms causing these structural alterations in the skin.
The structure of the epidermis can be described as "brick and mortar," with keratinocyte cells serving as the "bricks" and chemicals like ceramides, cholesterol, and fatty acids serving as the "mortar."
The keratinocytes differ at various body areas
The researchers used single-cell sequencing to define this difference. They also studied the chemicals that serve as the "mortar" between the keratinocytes using targeted molecular profiling. They next looked at how the compositional variations in the lipid and protein structures across various body regions corresponded to these variances in gene expression. These studies provided an explanation for why the skin appears differently on various body parts.
Different skin disorders may be seen in various body sites, which may be due to variations in the lipid and protein content of the skin at those locations. The researchers found that lipids attached to a piece of tape placed on the skin were sufficient to diagnose a patient with a specific skin illness while defining the precise lipid abnormalities linked to diverse skin diseases.
According to co-lead author and Project Scientist Alexander Merleev, "These findings will result in non-diagnostic diagnostics for prevalent dermatologic diseases."
The study's co-lead author and dermatology resident Stephanie Le added that these differences are also important for the creation of skin care products in the future. They show how skin care products should be made particularly to match the area of the body that they will be applied to.
The second study focused on the relationship between skin cells and the immune system.
It was previously understood that keratinocytes may release chemicals that could both exacerbate and alleviate inflammation. The researchers discovered that these immune-modulating molecules were expressed in particular layers of the epidermis using single-cell sequencing to examine each keratinocyte individually.
Immune-attracting and immune-anti-inflammatory chemicals are secreted by keratinocytes in the lowest layer of the epidermis. This is done to draw immune cells to the skin and keep them there so they may wait patiently to fight off any parasites or harmful microbes that might get through the skin's physical barrier. On the other hand, they discovered that keratinocytes in the epidermis' outermost layer release proinflammatory chemicals, namely IL-36.
An inflammatory skin condition called psoriasis has IL-36 as one of its primary mediators. The team discovered that a different molecule called PCSK9 controlled the level of IL-36 in the skin and that people with abnormalities in their PCSK9 gene were more likely to develop psoriasis.
"The skin is extremely specialised to interact with the immune system, as evidenced by our discovery that various skin layers release various immunological mediators. When the molecules secreted by the various layers of the skin are not balanced, certain people can develop skin conditions like psoriasis "Antonio Ji-Xu, a research fellow at UC Davis and the study's co-lead author, said
This article has been directly published from a wire service feed without any text changes. The only change is to the headline.
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