A practical guide for the study of human and murine sebaceous glands in situ

56Citations
Citations of this article
103Readers
Mendeley users who have this article in their library.

This article is free to access.

Abstract

The skin of most mammals is characterised by the presence of sebaceous glands (SGs), whose predominant constituent cell population is sebocytes, that is, lipid-producing epithelial cells, which develop from the hair follicle. Besides holocrine sebum production (which contributes 90% of skin surface lipids), multiple additional SG functions have emerged. These range from antimicrobial peptide production and immunomodulation, via lipid and hormone synthesis/metabolism, to the provision of an epithelial progenitor cell reservoir. Therefore, in addition to its involvement in common skin diseases (e.g. acne vulgaris), the unfolding diversity of SG functions, both in skin health and disease, has raised interest in this integral component of the pilosebaceous unit. This practical guide provides an introduction to SG biology and to relevant SG histochemical and immunohistochemical techniques, with emphasis placed on in situ evaluation methods that can be easily employed. We propose a range of simple, established markers, which are particularly instructive when addressing specific SG research questions in the two most commonly investigated species in SG research, humans and mice. To facilitate the development of reproducible analysis techniques for the in situ evaluation of SGs, this methods review concludes by suggesting quantitative (immuno-)histomorphometric methods for standardised SG evaluation. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Cite

CITATION STYLE

APA

Hinde, E., Haslam, I. S., Schneider, M. R., Langan, E. A., Kloepper, J. E., Schramm, C., … Paus, R. (2013, October). A practical guide for the study of human and murine sebaceous glands in situ. Experimental Dermatology. https://doi.org/10.1111/exd.12207

Register to see more suggestions

Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.

Already have an account?

Save time finding and organizing research with Mendeley

Sign up for free