Synthesis and composition of surface lipids of human skin

Abstract

Because of the unusual compounds in skin lipids, the pathways of lipogenesis that have been elucidated in other tissues cannot confidently be accepted for skin. Therefore, direct examination of lipogenesis in skin has been desirable, but the numerous studies that have been conducted have been only moderately successful in delineating pathways of lipid biosynthesis. Moreover, because of the extreme variation in surface lipid composition between species, studies of sebaceous lipogenesis in other animals have only limited application to man. However, useful inferences regarding the biosynthesis have been based on observations of the composition of human surface lipid collected under specific conditions. The results of investigations of the composition of surface lipids from human skin from which deductions concerning their origin and biosynthesis can be made are emphasized. Some of the more direct examinations of lipogenesis based on in vitro studies in skin are discussed.