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Stratum Corneum

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Immunology of the Skin

Abstract

The stratum corneum, consisting of denucleated keratinocytes, corneocytes that are eventually shed from skin, is a highly-functional outer layer of skin tissue. The structure of the stratum corneum is well-organized, and its formation is tightly regulated to insure its ability to perform competent epidermal barrier functions. An incompetent barrier cannot prevent harmful external microbes and stress (perturbation) from affecting internal tissues, leading to deleterious effects in cutaneous and extracutaneous cells/tissues. An abnormal permeability barrier increases the ingress of allergens that trigger inflammatory responses. These inflammatory responses then affect normal keratinocyte proliferation, differentiation, and barrier formation, keeping the formation of an incompetent barrier that sustains inflammatory responses. The stratum corneum is also responsible for innate immunity and modulation of adaptive immunity responses.

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Acknowledgments

The author gratefully acknowledges Dr. Anna Celli, Dr. Peter M. Elias, and Dr. Theodora Mauro (Department of Dermatology, University of California, San Francisco and Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center San Francisco, CA), Dr. Ichiro Hatta (Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute/SPring-8), and Dr. Mitsuhiro Denda (Shiseido Research Center, Yokohama, Japan) for numerous critical discussions. The author acknowledges the superb editorial assistance of Ms. Joan Wakefield (Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center San Francisco, CA). This study was supported by National Institute of Health grants AR051077 and AR062025 (the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases) and a National Rosacea Society Grant.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Dermatology, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Yoshikazu Uchida Ph.D. & Kyungho Park

  2. Dermatology Service and Research Unit, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and Northern California Institute for Research and Education, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Yoshikazu Uchida Ph.D. & Kyungho Park

  3. Dermatology Service, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 1700 Owens Street, Room 326, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA

    Yoshikazu Uchida Ph.D.

Authors
  1. Yoshikazu Uchida Ph.D.
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  2. Kyungho Park
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Correspondence to Yoshikazu Uchida Ph.D. .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Dermatology, Kyoto University Grad Sch of Med., Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan

    Kenji Kabashima

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Uchida, Y., Park, K. (2016). Stratum Corneum. In: Kabashima, K. (eds) Immunology of the Skin. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-55855-2_2

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