REVIEW Epidermal barrier disorders and corneodesmosome defects

Abstract Corneodesmosomes are modified desmosomes present in the stratum corneum (SC). They are crucial for SC cohesion and, thus, constitute one of the pivotal elements of the functional protective barrier of human skin. Expression of corneodesmosomes and, notably, the process of their deg-radation are probably altered during several dermatoses lead-ing to the disruption of the permeability barrier or to abnormal, often compensative, SC accumulation. These different situa-tions are reviewed in the present paper