Effects of Steroid Hormones on Developing Mouse Skin In Vitro
August 1975
in “
Journal of Endocrinology
”
New to Hydrocortisone? There is a guide in the encyclopedia. Read the guide → Studysummary This study found that cortisol and corticosterone led to thinning of the epidermis and hair follicle regression in fetal mouse skin, while testosterone promoted differentiation and sebaceous gland development. Our plain-language summary of this paper — not a Tressless recommendation.
In this study, pieces of skin from 13.5- to 15-day-old fetal mice were cultured in vitro with and without hormonal steroids. Cortisol at 7.5 μg/ml caused thinning of the non-cornified epidermis and flattening of the stratum granulosum after 3 days, with further thinning and hair follicle regression observed by 6 days, continuing up to 12 days. Corticosterone at 5 μg/ml also led to epidermal thinning and follicle regression after 6 days. In contrast, testosterone at 100 μg/ml resulted in good differentiation of the epidermis and hair follicles, with the non-cornified epidermal layers being similar to controls at 3 days but less than half as thick at 6 days. Hair follicles differentiated rapidly, and sebaceous gland anlagen developed by 6 days, with some sebaceous cell differentiation observed at 9 days.
