Non-Invasive Human Skin Transcriptome Analysis Using mRNA in Skin Surface Lipids

March 2022 in “ Communications biology ”

Tsukasa Inoue, Tetsuya Kuwano, Yuya Uehara, Masayuki Yano, Naoki Oya, Naoto Takada, So Tanaka, Yui Ueda, Akira Hachiya, Yūzō Takahashi, Noriyasu Ota, Takatoshi Murase

mRNA skin surface lipids sebum atopic dermatitis gene expression inflammation-related genes skin barrier lipid synthesis biomarkers SSLs AD

TLDR A new non-invasive method can analyze skin mRNA to understand skin diseases better.

This study developed a non-invasive method to analyze human mRNA from skin surface lipids (SSLs), protected from degradation by sebum. The method, validated with samples from 29 healthy subjects and 30 patients with atopic dermatitis (AD), revealed significant differences in gene expression between the groups. AD patients showed increased expression of inflammation-related genes and decreased expression of skin barrier and lipid synthesis-related genes. This approach offers a promising tool for understanding skin diseases and potential biomarkers, providing a comprehensive and non-invasive way to profile skin mRNAs.

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