Sebaceous gland regeneration in human skin xenografts.

摘要

Human sebaceous glands are microscopic, multi-lobular glandular structures of the pilosebaceous units. Their holo-crine secretion product, sebum, contains a unique mixture of lipids, including tri-glycerides, wax esters, squalene, cholesterol esters, and free fatty acids (reviewed in Zouboulis et al., 2003). Sebaceous glands have been shown to contribute to many skin functions (reviewed in Zouboulis, 2004; Zouboulis et al, 2008), but also are involved in the pathology of acne and seborrhea. Sebum is species-specific and acne is an exclusively human disease. Using primary and immortalized human sebaceous cells and mouse models, many pathways were shown to regulate sebaceous cell activities, including signaling molecules, transcription factors and growth factors (reviewed in Smith and Thiboutot, 2008; Zouboulis et al, 2008).