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The lipid composition of sebaceous glands as a reflection of gland size *
Author(s) -
SUMMERLY R.,
YARDLEY H.J.,
RAYMOND MARJORIE,
TABIOWO ANNE,
ILDERTON ELIZABETH
Publication year - 1976
Publication title -
british journal of dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.304
H-Index - 179
eISSN - 1365-2133
pISSN - 0007-0963
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2133.1976.tb04340.x
Subject(s) - squalene , sebaceous gland , lipogenesis , in vitro , seborrhoeic dermatitis , chemistry , endocrinology , medicine , composition (language) , apocrine , biochemistry , biology , lipid metabolism , anatomy , dermatology , linguistics , philosophy
SUMMARY Following 4 h incubation in vitro , the patterns of incorporation of [I‐ 14 C] acetate into the lipid classes of human sebaceous glands which were dissected from small skin biopsies have been established for glands of different size. It has been shown that in the larger sebaceous glands proportionately more of the labelled acetate is incorporated into squalene at the expense of triglycerides. Experiments are presented as a result of which we conclude that this in vitro phenomenon, observed with [I‐ 14 C] acetate incorporation, does reflect parallel changes in the proportions of these lipids actually present in glands of different size. It is suggested that the larger sebaceous glands of the acne patient elaborate sebum which has an enhanced potential for inducing comedo formation by virtue of an increased concentration of squalene. This work also demonstrates that, in the interpretation of in vitro studies of sebaceous gland lipogenesis utilizing labelled precursors, the size of the sebaceous glands must be carefully considered whenever patterns of incorporation are being compared.