Seasonal changes in epidermal ceramides are linked to impaired barrier function in acne patients

Abstract

Acne skin demonstrates increased transepidermal water loss (TEWL) compared with healthy skin, which may be due, in part, to altered ceramide (CER) levels. We analysed ceramides in the stratum corneum of healthy and acne skin, and studied seasonal variation over the course of a year. Using ultraperformance liquid chromatography with electrospray ionisation and tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC/ESI-MS/MS), we identified 283 ceramides. Acne-affected skin demonstrated overall lower levels of ceramides, with notable reductions in CER[NH] and CER[AH] ceramides, as well as the acylceramides CER[EOS] and CER[EOH]; these differences were more apparent in the winter months. Lower ceramide levels reflected an increase in TEWL in acne, compared with healthy skin, which partly resolves in the summer. Individual ceramide species with 18-carbon 6-hydroxysphingosine (H) bases (including CER[N(24)H(18)], CER[N(26)H(18)], CER[A(24)H(18)], CER[A(26)H(18)]) were significantly reduced in acne skin, suggesting that CER[NH] and CER[AH] species may be particularly important in a healthy skin barrier.

Lipidomic analysis of facial skin surface lipids reveals an altered lipid profile in infant acne

“…However, surprisingly, we found that relative ceramide levels in patients with IA were higher than those in patients without IA (Fig. ), which is inconsistent with previous results . We speculate that this may be due to differences in the pathogenesis of IA vs. other types of acne, and/or differences in skin physiology structure in infants vs. older patients.…”

Nicotinamide for photoprotection and skin cancer chemoprevention: A review of efficacy and safety

“…Oral NAM reduces transepidermal water loss (TEWL) by ~6%‐7% as early as 3 months after commencement of doses of 1 g daily, and topical 2% NAM applied twice daily over 4‐8 weeks provides a more effective moisturiser as measured by a reduction in TEWL, when compared with white petroleum alone ( P < 0.05) . Hence, NAM seems to enhance skin barrier function, which may contribute to its efficacy in rosacea and acne, and may make it an adjunctive treatment for dermatitis, as these skin conditions demonstrate increased transepidermal water loss within the stratum corneum, when compared to healthy skin …”

Lipidomics for translational skin research: A primer for the uninitiated

“…Ceramides have been implicated in diseases of epidermal barrier dysfunction, including psoriasis, atopic dermatitis and ichthyosis, and so are of clinical interest. The analysis of ceramides has progressed from simple, thin‐layer chromatography, which provides total ceramide content or analysis of the ceramide classes found in skin lipid extracts, including the complex acylceramides, through qualitative identification of individual species, to accurate identification and quantitation or semiquantitation of more than 320 ceramide species using multiple reaction monitoring by MS/MS …”

“…Such low‐abundance, short‐lived lipid mediators are unlikely to be identified by untargeted analyses or lipid imaging, so targeted mass spectrometry remains the most appropriate platform for their analysis. Commercial availability of synthetic standards and deuterated internal standards permits the use of calibration lines for quantitation, and the resulting assays can reveal disease‐ or treatment‐induced changes in specific lipid pathways …”