Transcriptomics and proteomics of human skin

The epidermis protects the organism against physical, chemical and biological challenges, and it acts as a signalling interface between the environment and the body. In order to perform these functions, the epidermal keratinocytes express a wide range of genes, several of which have been characterised previously. Recently, significant progress has been made in the large-scale analysis of keratinocyte gene expression, enabling a more profound insight into keratinocyte biology and human skin diseases. Transcriptome analysis--serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE) and microarrays--and proteome analysis have been performed on intact human epidermis and on keratinocytes cultured in model systems that mimic normal and diseased human epidermis. Here, we review the current state of large-scale gene expression analysis of human skin, with an emphasis on SAGE and complementary DNA microarrays. The merits and limitations of various approaches (transcriptomics versus proteomics) are discussed and the practical issues such as sample preparation from skin biopsies, and the use of in vitro models are briefly addressed.