Comparative lipid profiling of human stratum corneum between atopic dermatitis and\ud healthy subjects

Access restricted, at author's request, from May 20, 2016 - May 20, 2018.Dermatological issues are a widespread problem in humans that are often\ud overlooked. In our present study, we have isolated lipids from de-identified epidermal\ud skin tape samples from both Atopic Dermatitis and healthy individuals using a high\ud efficiency one-step extraction method, which were subsequently analyzed using modified\ud Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS). A study was performed on both an\ud original set of samples and follow up samples from patients revisiting the clinic several\ud months later. From our initial study, we have observed a general trend of increased\ud triglycerides, CER[A], CER[N], and cholesterol-3-sulfate, decreased free fatty acids of\ud specific chain length, and both increased and decreased CER[EO] subclass ceramides. In\ud the follow up study, there was a general trend of unaltered cholesterol and triglyceride\ud levels, normalized cholesterol-3-sulfate, decreased free fatty acids, CER[EO] and\ud CER[N] subclass ceramides, and decreased/normalized CER[A] subclass ceramides. All\ud of these changes in lipid composition are likely affecting the AD status of the individuals\ud and influencing their barrier functions since lipids play a major role in the formation and\ud maintenance of epidermal barrier of the skin. Altered lipid composition is likely a\ud contributing factor towards impaired skin barrier functions and the manifestation of\ud symptoms related to skin problems that are likely life long issues in AD subjects