Abstract
Restoring the lipid homeostasis of the stratum corneum (SC) is a common strategy to enhance skin barrier function. Here, we used a ceramide containing vernix caseosa (VC)-based formulation and were able to accelerate barrier recovery in healthy volunteers. The recovery was examined over 16 days by monitoring trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL) after barrier disruption by tape-stripping. Four skin sites were used to examine the effects of both treatment and barrier recovery. After 16 days, samples were harvested at these sites to examine the SC ceramide composition and lipid organization. Changes in ceramide profiles were identified using principal component analysis. After barrier recovery, the untreated sites showed increased levels of ceramide subclass AS and ceramides with a 34 total carbon-atom chain length, while the mean ceramide chain length was reduced. These changes were diminished by treatment with the studied formulation, which concurrently increased the formulated ceramides. Correlations were observed between SC lipid composition, lipid organization, and TEWL, and changes in the ceramide subclass composition suggest changes in the ceramide biosynthesis. These results suggest that VC-based formulations enhance skin barrier recovery and are attractive candidates to treat skin disorders with impaired barrier properties.
Highlights
Restoring the lipid homeostasis of the stratum corneum (SC) is a common strategy to enhance skin barrier function
We showed that a vernix caseosa (VC)-based formulation is able to accelerate the barrier recovery of tape-stripdisrupted healthy human skin and, for the first time, demonstrate that formulations can act by normalizing the SC lipid composition
Using Principal component analysis (PCA), samples were clustered into groups of treatment and stripping based on changes in ceramide profile
Summary
Restoring the lipid homeostasis of the stratum corneum (SC) is a common strategy to enhance skin barrier function. The untreated sites showed increased levels of ceramide subclass AS and ceramides with a 34 total carbon-atom chain length, while the mean ceramide chain length was reduced These changes were diminished by treatment with the studied formulation, which concurrently increased the formulated ceramides. Correlations were observed between SC lipid composition, lipid organization, and TEWL, and changes in the ceramide subclass composition suggest changes in the ceramide biosynthesis These results suggest that VC-based formulations enhance skin barrier recovery and are attractive candidates to treat skin disorders with impaired barrier properties.—Boiten, W. The effect of a ceramide-containing formulation on skin barrier recovery, ceramide composition, and lipid organization were studied
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