These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

  • Title: Glucocorticoids accelerate fetal maturation of the epidermal permeability barrier in the rat.
    Author: Aszterbaum M, Feingold KR, Menon GK, Williams ML.
    Journal: J Clin Invest; 1993 Jun; 91(6):2703-8. PubMed ID: 8514877.
    Abstract:
    The cutaneous permeability barrier to systemic water loss is mediated by hydrophobic lipids forming membrane bilayers within the intercellular domains of the stratum corneum (SC). The barrier emerges during day 20 of gestation in the fetal rat and is correlated with increasing SC thickness and increasing SC lipid content, the appearance of well-formed lamellar bodies in the epidermis, and the presence of lamellar unit structures throughout the SC. Because glucocorticoids accelerate lung lamellar body and surfactant maturation in man and experimental animals, these studies were undertaken to determine whether maternal glucocorticoid treatment accelerates maturation of the epidermal lamellar body secretory system. Maternal rats were injected with betamethasone or saline (control) on days 16-18, and pups were delivered prematurely on day 19. Whereas control pups exhibited immature barriers to transepidermal water loss (8.16 +/- 0.52 mg/cm2 per h), glucocorticoid-treated pups exhibited competent barriers (0.74 +/- 0.14 mg/cm2 per h; P < 0.001). Glucocorticoid treatment also: (a) accelerated maturation of lamellar body and SC membrane ultrastructure; (b) increased SC total lipid content twofold; and (c) increased cholesterol and polar ceramide content three- to sixfold. Thus, glucocorticoids accelerate the functional, morphological, and lipid biochemical maturation of the permeability barrier in the fetal rat.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]