Mads A Røpke1, Cristina Alonso2, Sora Jung3, Hanne Norsgaard4, Claudia Richter5, Maxim E Darvin3, Thomas Litman4, Annika Vogt5, Jürgen Lademann3, Ulrike Blume-Peytavi5, Jan Kottner5. 1. LEO Pharma A/S, 2750 Ballerup, Denmark. Electronic address: mads.roepke@leo-pharma.com. 2. OWL Metabolomics, Parque Tecnológico de Bizkaia, Derio, Spain. 3. Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Center of Experimental and Applied Cutaneous Physiology, Department of Dermatology and Allergy, Charité-Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany. 4. LEO Pharma A/S, 2750 Ballerup, Denmark. 5. Clinical Research Center for Hair and Skin Science, Department of Dermatology and Allergy, Charité-Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany.
Abstract
BACKGROUND:Topical glucocorticoids (GCs) are known to induce atrophy of human skin including thinning of epidermal and dermal compartments by influencing keratinocyte proliferation and synthesis of extracellular matrix proteins. GCs are also known to reduce skin barrier integrity but little is known about the changes in lipid composition in human skin following topical administration of GCs. OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the effects of GCs on stratum corneum (SC) function and lipid profile of human skin in vivo. METHOD: Over a period of 4 weeks, 16 healthy volunteers were treated on the forearms once daily with topical clobetasol proprionate (CP), betamethasone diproprionate (BDP) or vehicle. One day after last application (Day 29) SC lipids were collected by tape stripping and analysed by a high sensitivity liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry method. Gene expression was analysed in skin biopsies. The full skin, epidermal and SC thickness were assessed by ultrasound, optical coherence tomography and confocal microscopy, respectively, and barrier integrity was assessed by measuring transepidermal water loss (TEWL). RESULTS: Compared to vehicle controls, GCs induced significant alterations in SC lipid profiles. CP caused a reduction in 98 lipids of 226 analysed while BDP treatment only resulted in a significant change of 29 lipids. Most pronounced changes occurred among long chain, ester-linked, ceramide classes while other ceramide classes were much less affected. Almost the complete profile of triacylglycerols (TGs) was significantly decreased by CP while more modest changes were observed in free fatty acids. Topical GCs reduced the thickness of skin layers and increased TEWL. GC treatment also induced changes in expression of genes coding for extracellular markers and enzymes involved in lipid synthesis. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows a reduction in specific SC lipid classes following topical GC treatment of human skin and contributes to the characterisation of the barrier disruption in human skin induced by topical steroids.
RCT Entities:
BACKGROUND: Topical glucocorticoids (GCs) are known to induce atrophy of human skin including thinning of epidermal and dermal compartments by influencing keratinocyte proliferation and synthesis of extracellular matrix proteins. GCs are also known to reduce skin barrier integrity but little is known about the changes in lipid composition in human skin following topical administration of GCs. OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the effects of GCs on stratum corneum (SC) function and lipid profile of human skin in vivo. METHOD: Over a period of 4 weeks, 16 healthy volunteers were treated on the forearms once daily with topical clobetasol proprionate (CP), betamethasone diproprionate (BDP) or vehicle. One day after last application (Day 29) SC lipids were collected by tape stripping and analysed by a high sensitivity liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry method. Gene expression was analysed in skin biopsies. The full skin, epidermal and SC thickness were assessed by ultrasound, optical coherence tomography and confocal microscopy, respectively, and barrier integrity was assessed by measuring transepidermal water loss (TEWL). RESULTS: Compared to vehicle controls, GCs induced significant alterations in SC lipid profiles. CP caused a reduction in 98 lipids of 226 analysed while BDP treatment only resulted in a significant change of 29 lipids. Most pronounced changes occurred among long chain, ester-linked, ceramide classes while other ceramide classes were much less affected. Almost the complete profile of triacylglycerols (TGs) was significantly decreased by CP while more modest changes were observed in free fatty acids. Topical GCs reduced the thickness of skin layers and increased TEWL. GC treatment also induced changes in expression of genes coding for extracellular markers and enzymes involved in lipid synthesis. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows a reduction in specific SC lipid classes following topical GC treatment of human skin and contributes to the characterisation of the barrier disruption in human skin induced by topical steroids.
Authors: Florian Gruber; Martina Marchetti-Deschmann; Christopher Kremslehner; Markus Schosserer Journal: Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) Date: 2021-01-21 Impact factor: 5.555