U. Wormser et al., Release of amino acids, fluorescamine-reactive substances and substance P from the epidermis of the living animal, SKIN PH APP, 12(1-2), 1999, pp. 98-104
The present study demonstrates a procedure for extraction and determination
of stratum corneum amines in the living animal, A non-leaky well, containi
ng 10 mM Tris-HCl buffer, pH 7.0, was constructed on the shaved backs of an
esthetized animals. It was found that Ser, Ala, Gly and Pro are mainly rele
ased from the stratum corneum of 4-month-old guinea pigs, and in 2-month-ol
d rats, Gly, Ser and Arg show the highest degree of release. Much lower ami
no acid concentrations were observed in 20-month-old rats. This was also re
flected by the high levels of fluorescamine-reactive substances released fr
om young rat skin as compared to the old animals, The release of the neurop
eptide substance P into the aqueous medium was increased 3.2 times upon hea
t stimulus as compared to control skin, Amines and other compounds released
from the skin may serve as markers for skin aging or for certain skin diso
rders, leading to a new approach for their treatments.