Corneocyte adhesion

Corneocyte adhesion is the physiological process that maintains the cohesion of the stratum corneum, the outermost layer of the epidermis, ensuring a robust physical barrier against environmental stressors. This adhesion is mediated by corneodesmosomes, which are specialized junctional complexes containing key proteins such as corneodesmosin (CDSN), desmoglein 1 (DSG1), and desmocollin 1 (DSC1) (UniProt: Q15517, Q02413) [1, 2]. The regulated breakdown of these proteins, known as desquamation, is essential for normal skin shedding and is primarily driven by serine proteases like kallikrein-related peptidases (KLK5, KLK7, and KLK14) (PubMed: 15373762) [3, 4]. Clinical conditions arise when this balance is disrupted; for instance, hyperkeratosis and ichthyosis occur due to excessive adhesion, while barrier defects in atopic dermatitis and Netherton syndrome are linked to accelerated desquamation (PubMed: 11851880, 10932314) [5, 6]. Pharmacological intervention typically involves the use of keratolytics like salicylic acid or urea, which weaken the adhesive forces between corneocytes to treat scaling disorders, or the use of retinoids to modulate the rate of epidermal differentiation and shedding (PubChem: CID 338, CID 1176) [7, 8].

Other names

Corneocyte cohesionStratum corneum adhesionCorneodesmosomal adhesion

Keratolysis via disruption of corneodesmosomal protein-protein interactions, promotion of enzymatic desquamation through pH modulation, and regulation of epidermal turnover.