CHEMICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS ON MAMMALIAN SKIN

本子项目是利用由NIH/NCRR资助的中心赠款提供的资源的众多研究子项目之一。子项目和研究者（PI）可能已经从另一个NIH来源获得了主要资金，因此可以在其他CRISP条目中表示。列出的机构是中心的，不一定是研究者的机构。我们目前在BRC的研究涉及哺乳动物皮肤表皮层的生理功能及其对各种化学和环境刺激的反应。哺乳动物的表皮是一个多层的器官，用于控制水分流失和保护生物体免受外部毒素和病原体的侵害。维持皮肤的完整性对生物体的健康和生存至关重要，表皮屏障功能的丧失与对化学损伤的反应以及包括牛皮癣和特应性皮炎在内的许多疾病有关。在皮肤中，位于表皮底部的自我更新细胞基底角化细胞生长、分化并产生上面的细胞层。在这个过程中，形成了细胞外的pH梯度，其中最外层的分化层酸性最强。酸化是由表皮细胞质子挤压驱动的，创造了一个对屏障完整性至关重要的环境。我们对检测角质形成细胞细胞外酸化的机制很感兴趣，并认识到NCRR生物电流研究中心拥有独特的资源，适合监测这些细胞的细胞外pH值。

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Our current studies at the BRC involve the physiological function of the epidermal layer of mammalian skin and its response to various chemical and environmental stimuli. The mammalian epidermis is a multilayered organ, serving to control water loss and protect the organism from external toxins and pathogens. The maintenance of the skin¿s integrity is essential for health and survival of the organism, and loss of epidermal barrier function has been implicated in responses to chemical insult as well as a number of disorders, including psoriasis and atopic dermatitis. In the skin, basal keratinocytes, self-renewing cells located at the base of the epidermis, grow, differentiate, and give rise to the cell layers above. In this process an extracellular pH gradient is formed, in which the outermost differentiated layers are most acidic. Acidification is driven by the epidermal cell proton extrusion, creating an environment essential for barrier integrity. We were interested in examining the mechanisms involved in extracellular acidification by keratinocytes, and recognized that NCRR BioCurrents Research Center had resources that were uniquely suited to monitoring extracellular pH from these cells.