title: Age- and sex-dependent change in stratum corneum sphingolipids.
abstract: We measured six stratum corneum sphingolipid species (ceramides 1-6) in 26 males and 27 females, and found a significant change in their percentage composition only among female subjects of different age groups. There was a significant increase in ceramide 1 and 2 with a corresponding decrease in ceramide 3 and 6 from prepubertal age to adulthood. Thereafter the ratio of ceramide 2 to total sphingolipids decreased with age in contrast to ceramide 3 which showed an increase. Such a pattern of change in the aging population is different from that observed in scaly skin experimentally induced by tape stripping. The present results suggest a significant influence of female hormones on the composition of stratum corneum sphingolipids. Moreover, the different patterns of change in sphingolipid composition of stratum corneum lipids between scales from inflammatory skin and those from aged skin also suggest that epidermal biosynthesis of sphingolipids is influenced by epidermal proliferative activity.
authors.affiliation: Shiseido Research Center, Yokohama, Japan.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Denda
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Koyama
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hori
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Horii
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hara
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tagami
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002518:Ceramides / Q000378:metabolism*; D002648:Child; D004817:Epidermis / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D015595:Skin Aging / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D002518:Ceramides