Lipid droplets and associated proteins in sebocytes.

Mammalian skin is characterized by the presence of sebaceous glands (SGs), which develop with the hair follicle and whose predominant cell type is the sebocyte. Sebocytes are epithelial cells that progressively accumulate lipids and eventually release their content (sebum) by holocrine secretion as cells disrupt. In addition to thermoregulatory and pheromonal actions, numerous additional functions have been demonstrated or postulated for sebum, including antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. The SG has also been involved in the pathogenesis of skin diseases as acne vulgaris and some forms of alopecia. Although lipid accumulation culminating in cell disruption and content release is the hallmark of sebocyte differentiation, only a surprisingly low number of studies have so far focused on sebocyte lipid droplets and their associated proteins.