Investigating the skin with sticky plastic discs

Linked Article:   Hughes et al . Br J Dermatol 2021; 185 :26–35. A surprising amount of information about the skin can be obtained by studying the components of its outermost layer, the stratum corneum. For example, resident skin bacteria, proteins expressed in skin diseases such as eczema and even those associated with skin cancer can be investigated in this way. The stratum corneum consists of a variable number of layers of compact flat cells. Tape stripping (TS) is a simple, non‐invasive method of removing these cells, layer by layer. It involves the repeated application of plastic discs with an adhesive coating. This review article by authors in London, UK, summarizes the technique of TS, what information can be obtained and which skin diseases have been studied in this way. They present evidence for the best technique for processing the TS samples to give the optimum yield of target components such as messenger RNA.