Skin

A human skin multifunctional O-acyltransferase that catalyzes the synthesis of acylglycerols, waxes, and retinyl esters

“…In humans, skin surface lipids are mainly composed of triacylglycerol and wax monoesters (8), and large amounts are found primarily where sebaceous glands are dense, such as scalp and forehead (10). Indeed, we found that human MFAT was expressed most highly in skin, and, using in situ hybridization, Turkish et al (26) showed that the enzyme (AWAT2 in their report) was expressed in sebaceous glands of the scalp.…”

“…The lipid composition of sebum varies among species. For example, triacylglycerols (58%) and wax monoesters (26%) are the most abundant lipids in human sebum (8), whereas mouse sebum has high levels of wax diesters (65%), which are believed to confer water-repulsion properties on fur (9,10).…”

Disruption of Cholesterol 7α-Hydroxylase Gene in Mice

“…7). The secreted compounds are monoglyceride esters, which are not normally found in mouse fur (20,21,23). In the knockout animals, they may arise by direct excretion from the skin to the fur.…”

Isolation and characterization of a Chinese hamster ovary cell line deficient in fatty alcohol:NAD+ oxidoreductase activity.

“…As they are generated, long-chain fatty alcohols must be metabolized or removed. They can be incorporated as the alcohol into ether lipids (4) and, to a minor extent, wax esters (5,6), or they can be oxidized to fatty acid and incorporated into complex lipids (7).…”