Gender-Related Differences in the Physiology of the Stratum Corneum

Abstract

Background: Only few studies on gender-related differences in skin physiology have been performed – and they provided conflicting results. Objective: In the present study, the effect of gender on the physiology of the stratum corneum was studied. Methods: The physiological parameters transepidermal water loss, pH value, hydration and sebum content were determined on the flexor forearms of 6 female and 6 male volunteers. In addition, stratum corneum samples, removed by tape stripping, were studied for amount, spectroscopic properties, protein content, and mass. Results: The skin of women was characterized by a significantly higher pH value (5.6 ± 0.4) than that of men (4.3 ± 0.4, p < 0.05). Protein absorption was the only other parameter significantly dependent on gender (p < 0.05). Both effects might be caused by differences in human biology, such as hormonal status. Conclusion: Therefore, the gender of the volunteers should be considered in dermatologic studies.

Consistency of the Proteome in Primary Human Keratinocytes With Respect to Gender, Age, and Skin Localization

“…Thus, keratinocytes derived from different sites can serve as general keratinocyte model systems. Taken together, the results on primary keratinocytes were counterintuitive considering constitutional factors on the one hand and studies that have demonstrated varying skin functions (15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20) on the other hand. Our results suggest that involvement of keratinocytes is only small in skin functions dependent on age, gender, or localization and that their main function comprises formation of a barrier against environmental insults.…”

“…However, the short keratinocyte life cycle of about 4 weeks requires a steady supply of fresh tissue samples, and a concern is that varying constitutional factors such as age, gender, and anatomic site may compromise experimental results. Many skin properties have been examined with respect to such factors and an impact has been observed on epidermal thickness (15), epidermal nerve fiber density (16), skin surface pH (17), protein absorption ability (18), stratum corneum hydration (17,19), melanin index, and skin elasticity (20). These properties arise from the interplay of many cell types in the tissue context, most importantly between dermal fibroblasts and epidermal keratinocytes.…”

The Tape-Stripping Technique as a Method for Drug Quantification in Skin

“…Moreover, in vitro methods are encouraged by regulatory agencies regarding the provision of percutaneous absorption data for drugs, pesticides and cosmetics [62]. All these points are emphasized in Table 1, which summarizes the research with the TS technique to determine the kinetics and penetration depth of permeants (drugs and toxic chemicals) [7,26,35,37,44,, in order to evaluate the factors that influence the physiology of the SC [42,44,105,106], to determine the composition of the SC [108], superficial infections in the skin [110,111], and evaluate skin regeneration [112,113], etc.…”

“…The anatomical region also influences lipid distribution [101,102], microflora [103] and physical parameters such as TEWL [104]. However, there are already a few studies reporting conflicting results for the effect of gender [105] on skin physiology, as well as for the effect of anatomical site, pressure, pressure duration and tape removal rate in skin physiology [42], or the effect of skin transport technology, as iontophoresis, on human skin [106].…”

“…Jacobi et al [105] studied the effect of gender on the physiology of the SC. The physiological parameters: TEWL, pH value, hydration and sebum content were determined on the flexor forearms of 6 female and 6 male volunteers.…”