Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2016 Apr;9(4 Suppl 1):S2-S8.
Epub 2016 Apr 1.

Understanding the Epidermal Barrier in Healthy and Compromised Skin: Clinically Relevant Information for the Dermatology Practitioner: Proceedings of an Expert Panel Roundtable Meeting

James Del Rosso  1 , Joshua Zeichner  2 , Andrew Alexis  3 , David Cohen  4 , Diane Berson  5
Affiliations
Review

Understanding the Epidermal Barrier in Healthy and Compromised Skin: Clinically Relevant Information for the Dermatology Practitioner: Proceedings of an Expert Panel Roundtable Meeting

James Del Rosso et al. J Clin Aesthet Dermatol. 2016 Apr.
No abstract available

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
This figure depicts the “bricks and mortar” structure of the stratum corneum. The corneocytes represent the bricks and the intercellular lamellar lipid membrane represents the mortar. Corneocytes comprise primarily keratin macrofibrils, are protected externally by a cornified cell envelope, and are held together by corneodesmosomes. The intercellular lamellar lipid membrane is primarily composed of ceramides, cholesterol, and fatty acids. A mixture of multiple small hygroscopic compounds present within corneocytes, referred to collectively as natural moisturizing factor (NMF), plays a vital role in the physiological maintenance of stratum corneum hydration.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
The “Epidermal Factory”: Progressive layers and corresponding production steps.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Physiological adaptions of the stratum corneum In response to factors promoting desiccation (e.g., increase in transepidermal water loss, decrease in natural moisturizing factor, damage or reduction in stratum corneum lipids, damage to stratum corneum proteins).
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Stepwise progression from damage to permeability barrier → xerosis → eczematous dermatitis.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Harding CR. The stratum corneum: structure and function in health and disease. Dermatol Ther. 2004;17:6–15. - PubMed
    1. Proksch E, Elias PM. Epidermal barrier in atopic dermatitis. In: Bieber T, Leung DYM, editors. Atopic Dermatitis. New York: Marcel Dekker; 2002. pp. 123–143.
    1. Del Rosso JQ, Levin J. The clinical relevance of maintaining the functional integrity of the stratum corneum in both healthy and disease-affected skin. J Clin Aesthet Dermatol. 2011;4(9):22–42. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Thiboutot D, Del Rosso JQ. Acne vulgaris and the epidermal barrier: is acne vulgaris associated with inherent epidermal abnormalities that cause impairment of barrier functions? Do any topical acne therapies alter the structural and/or functional integrity of the epidermal barrier? J Clin Aesthet Dermatol. 2013;6(2):18–24. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Dirschka T, Tronnier H, Folster-Holst R. Epithelial barrier function and atopic diathesis in rosacea and perioral dermatitis. Br J Dermatol. 2004;150:1136–1141. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources