Moisture retention

Moisture retention refers generally to the ability of a material, tissue, or system to hold or retain water against loss to the environment. In human physiology, for example in the skin, this property is mediated by a variety of molecular and structural factors: - The stratum corneum (outer skin layer) retains water through natural moisturizing factors (e.g., amino acids and derivatives), ordered intercellular lipids (including ceramides, cholesterol), and proteins like filaggrin that regulate barrier function and water binding[1][2]. - In plants and soils, moisture retention depends on structural properties and molecular components like organic matter, mucilage, or specialized cells in succulents[8]. - In systemic human physiology, "water retention" can be pathological (e.g., edema), resulting from dysregulation of the cardiovascular, renal, or lymphatic systems, but this refers to a clinical sign, not a molecular target[7]. Moisture retention is therefore a property or effect, not a specific molecule, protein, or receptor, and cannot be mapped to a canonical therapeutic target. If you are seeking a druggable target involved in skin moisture retention, consider molecules such as aquaporin-3, filaggrin, or hyaluronic acid synthases, which play molecular roles in skin hydration and barrier function[1][2].

Other names

water retentionhydration retentionfluid retention