Stratum corneum lipids in a hydration gradient exhibit robust lamellar organization and responsive fluidity
(2026) In Cell Reports Physical Science 7(7).- Abstract
The outermost skin layer, the stratum corneum (SC), forms a responsive barrier where molecular transport depends on the structure and dynamics of its extracellular lipid matrix. SC lipids predominantly adopt a long-periodicity lamellar (LPP) phase across a wide hydration range, but how this structural resilience relates to the strong hydration dependence of skin permeability remains unclear. It is also not well understood how bulk observations translate to physiological conditions, where the SC is present in a steep water gradient. Here, we characterize SC lipids under both bulk and non-equilibrium conditions induced by a hydration gradient. In bulk, lipids form a largely solid LPP structure. Increasing hydration leads to increased... (More)
The outermost skin layer, the stratum corneum (SC), forms a responsive barrier where molecular transport depends on the structure and dynamics of its extracellular lipid matrix. SC lipids predominantly adopt a long-periodicity lamellar (LPP) phase across a wide hydration range, but how this structural resilience relates to the strong hydration dependence of skin permeability remains unclear. It is also not well understood how bulk observations translate to physiological conditions, where the SC is present in a steep water gradient. Here, we characterize SC lipids under both bulk and non-equilibrium conditions induced by a hydration gradient. In bulk, lipids form a largely solid LPP structure. Increasing hydration leads to increased lipid mobility without disrupting LPP structure. Under a hydration gradient, lipids assemble into oriented multilayers parallel to the interface towards air. These findings support a model in which SC lipids buffer humidity through hydration-controlled modulation of fluidity while preserving a robust lamellar scaffold, linking structure to transport in the SC.
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- author
- Labecka, Nikol LU ; Mojumdar, Enamul H. LU ; Andersson, Jenny M. LU ; Velasquez, Nicolas ; Sonoki, Yoshihiko LU ; Nygård, Kim LU ; Carlsen, Mads ; Roger, Kevin and Sparr, Emma LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2026-07-15
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- ceramide lipids, hydration gradient, lipid self-assembly, long-periodicity lamellar phase, MAS ssNMR, millifluidic drying cell, non-equilibrium, oriented multilayers, stratum corneum lipids, X-ray scattering
- in
- Cell Reports Physical Science
- volume
- 7
- issue
- 7
- article number
- 103381
- publisher
- Cell Press
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:105042568550
- ISSN
- 2666-3864
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.xcrp.2026.103381
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- b8f17200-dffb-45e0-b846-d2dd2b7b1e25
- date added to LUP
- 2026-08-24 09:32:17
- date last changed
- 2026-08-24 09:32:34
@article{b8f17200-dffb-45e0-b846-d2dd2b7b1e25,
abstract = {{<p>The outermost skin layer, the stratum corneum (SC), forms a responsive barrier where molecular transport depends on the structure and dynamics of its extracellular lipid matrix. SC lipids predominantly adopt a long-periodicity lamellar (LPP) phase across a wide hydration range, but how this structural resilience relates to the strong hydration dependence of skin permeability remains unclear. It is also not well understood how bulk observations translate to physiological conditions, where the SC is present in a steep water gradient. Here, we characterize SC lipids under both bulk and non-equilibrium conditions induced by a hydration gradient. In bulk, lipids form a largely solid LPP structure. Increasing hydration leads to increased lipid mobility without disrupting LPP structure. Under a hydration gradient, lipids assemble into oriented multilayers parallel to the interface towards air. These findings support a model in which SC lipids buffer humidity through hydration-controlled modulation of fluidity while preserving a robust lamellar scaffold, linking structure to transport in the SC.</p>}},
author = {{Labecka, Nikol and Mojumdar, Enamul H. and Andersson, Jenny M. and Velasquez, Nicolas and Sonoki, Yoshihiko and Nygård, Kim and Carlsen, Mads and Roger, Kevin and Sparr, Emma}},
issn = {{2666-3864}},
keywords = {{ceramide lipids; hydration gradient; lipid self-assembly; long-periodicity lamellar phase; MAS ssNMR; millifluidic drying cell; non-equilibrium; oriented multilayers; stratum corneum lipids; X-ray scattering}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{07}},
number = {{7}},
publisher = {{Cell Press}},
series = {{Cell Reports Physical Science}},
title = {{Stratum corneum lipids in a hydration gradient exhibit robust lamellar organization and responsive fluidity}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.xcrp.2026.103381}},
doi = {{10.1016/j.xcrp.2026.103381}},
volume = {{7}},
year = {{2026}},
}