title: Galectin-7 in the stratum corneum: a biomarker of the skin barrier function.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Skin barrier disruption often occurs in diseased and damaged skin conditions such as atopic dermatitis (AD). We focused the galectin-7 protein (Gal-7) as a biomarker of skin condition and assessed whether the content of Gal-7 in stratum corneum (scGal-7) could be used as an indicator of skin barrier disruption and as an index of local skin symptoms in AD patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Alteration of Gal-7 expression levels in keratinocyte and scGal-7 contents after barrier disruption by sodium dodecyl sulphate were evaluated in vitro and in vivo, respectively. Correlation between scGal-7 content and transepidermal water loss (TEWL) was examined in 126 healthy subjects. We performed single measurements of scGal-7 contents in 34 AD patients and serial measurements of 15 inpatients among them. SC samples were collected by the tape-stripping method, and scGal-7 content was determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Gal-7 expression in keratinocytes increased after barrier disruption. The scGal-7 content reflected the disruption of the skin barrier. The scGal-7 contents and TEWL values correlated in healthy subjects. The scGal-7 level was higher in AD patients than in healthy subjects. The scGal-7 contents in the cheek and neck of AD patients significantly correlated with the total and local skin lesion severity scores. Serial measurements in the inpatients showed that the scGal-7 contents in the cheek and neck decreased in tandem with local severity scores in response to treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Measurement of scGal-7 content in tape-stripped samples was useful for the evaluation of the skin barrier function in dry skin conditions such as AD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Toho University Ohashi Medical Center, Tokyo, Japan. sniiyama@aol.com.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Niiyama
authors.affiliation: Fancl Research Institute, Yokohama, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yoshino
authors.affiliation: Fancl Research Institute, Yokohama, Japan.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yasuda
authors.affiliation: Fancl Research Institute, Yokohama, Japan.
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Fancl Research Institute, Yokohama, Japan.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Izumi
authors.affiliation: Fancl Research Institute, Yokohama, Japan.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ishiwatari
authors.affiliation: Fancl Research Institute, Yokohama, Japan.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Matsukuma
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Toho University Ohashi Medical Center, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mukai
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005260:Female; D037161:Galectins / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D012867:Skin / Q000378:metabolism*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D037161:Galectins; C092525:LGALS7 protein, human
keywords: biomarker; galectin-7; stratum corneum; tape stripping