Keratinocytes undergo maturation during their transit through the viable layers of skin, and then abruptly transform into flattened, anuclear corneocytes that constitute the cellular component of the skin barrier, the stratum corneum (SC). The SC is generally considered to be homogeneous in its structure and barrier properties, and is often shown schematically as a featureless brick wall, the “bricks” being the corneocytes, the “mortar” being intercellular lipid. Previously we showed the outer SC was not homogeneous in its composition, but contained steep gradients of the physiological inorganic elements Na, K and Cl, likely originating from sweat salts. Here we show the innermost corneocytes in human skin are also heterogeneous in composition, undergoing systematic changes in intracellular element concentration during transit into the interior of the SC.Human skin biopsies were taken from the lower leg of individuals with both “good” and “dry” skin and plunge-frozen in a stirred, cooled isopentane/propane mixture.
