The ultrastrncture of the skin of air-adapted mammals （bats） is not known. The study at the electron microscope of the skin of the back and the flying membrane of Pipistrellus kuhlii showed that the thickness of the...The ultrastrncture of the skin of air-adapted mammals （bats） is not known. The study at the electron microscope of the skin of the back and the flying membrane of Pipistrellus kuhlii showed that the thickness of the epidermis is very low （10- 12μm）, and that 1 - 2 flat spinosus cells are present beneath the stratum corneum which is formed by very thin corneoeytes that resemble those of avian apteric epidermis. The stratum granulosum is discontinuous and few small （less than 0.3μm large） keratohyalin granules are present. The epidermis is reduced to one flat basal layer in contact with the stratum corneum in many areas of the flying membrane. Transitional corneoeytes are almost absent suggesting that the process of eornification is very rapid. In the basement membrane numerous hemidesmosomes are present and form attachment points for the dense dermis underneath. Numerous collagen fibrils directly contact with the hemidesmosomes and the dense lamella of the basement membrane. Sparse elastic fibrils allow the stretching of the epidermis during flight and the rapid folding of the epidermis after flying without damaging the epidermis. Like in avian epidermis, the production of lipids is high in bat keratinocytes, and multilamellar bodies discharge lipids extra- and intra-cellularly. This may compensate the lack of a thick fat layer in the dermis of the flying membrane as lipids may help in thermical insulation against the cooling air currents flowing on the bat skin during flight. Fur hairs are very thin （4 - 7 μm）, and they have an elaborated cuticle made of pointed expansions similar in texture with that of the cortex. Cuticle ceils form hook-like grasping points that allow to keep hairs stuck together. In this way the pelage remains compact in order to maintain body temperature.展开更多
Our previous studies had confirmed that the essential oil from Zanthoxylum bungeanum Maxim. （Z. bungeanum oil） could effectively enhance the percutaneous permeation of drug molecules as a natural transdermal penetra...Our previous studies had confirmed that the essential oil from Zanthoxylum bungeanum Maxim. （Z. bungeanum oil） could effectively enhance the percutaneous permeation of drug molecules as a natural transdermal penetration enhancer. The aim of the present study is to investigate and compare the skin penetration enhancement effect of Z. bungeanum oil and its main components on traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） active components. Toxicities of Z. bungeanum oil and three selected terpene compounds （terpinen-4-ol, 1,8-cineole, and limonene） in epidermal keratinocytes （HaCaT） and dermal flbroblast （CCC-ESF-1） cell lines were measured using an MTT （3-（4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl）-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide） assay. Five model drugs in TCM external preparations, namely osthole （OT）, tetramethylpyrazine （TMP）, ferulic acid （FA）, puerarin （PR）, and geniposide （GP）, which were selected based on their lipophilicity denoted by IogKo^w, were tested using in vitro permeation studies in which vertical Franz diffusion ceils and rat abdominal skin were employed. The secondary structure changes of skin stratum corneum （SC） and drug thermodynamic activities were investigated to understand their mechanisms of action using Fourier transform infrared （FTIR） spectroscopy and saturation solubility studies, respectively. It was found that Z. bungeanum oil showed lower toxicities in both HaCaT cells and CCC-ESF-1 cells compared with three terpene compounds used alone. The enhancement permeation capacities by all tested agents were in the following increasing order： terpinen-4-ol=1,8-cineole〈limonene〈Z, bungeanum oil. The mechanisms of permeation enhancement suggested that these enhancers promoted the skin permeation of drugs mainly by affecting SC lipids. These results indicated that Z. bungeanum oil exhibited better performance in enhancing the skin permeation of active components in TCM preparations.展开更多
文摘The ultrastrncture of the skin of air-adapted mammals （bats） is not known. The study at the electron microscope of the skin of the back and the flying membrane of Pipistrellus kuhlii showed that the thickness of the epidermis is very low （10- 12μm）, and that 1 - 2 flat spinosus cells are present beneath the stratum corneum which is formed by very thin corneoeytes that resemble those of avian apteric epidermis. The stratum granulosum is discontinuous and few small （less than 0.3μm large） keratohyalin granules are present. The epidermis is reduced to one flat basal layer in contact with the stratum corneum in many areas of the flying membrane. Transitional corneoeytes are almost absent suggesting that the process of eornification is very rapid. In the basement membrane numerous hemidesmosomes are present and form attachment points for the dense dermis underneath. Numerous collagen fibrils directly contact with the hemidesmosomes and the dense lamella of the basement membrane. Sparse elastic fibrils allow the stretching of the epidermis during flight and the rapid folding of the epidermis after flying without damaging the epidermis. Like in avian epidermis, the production of lipids is high in bat keratinocytes, and multilamellar bodies discharge lipids extra- and intra-cellularly. This may compensate the lack of a thick fat layer in the dermis of the flying membrane as lipids may help in thermical insulation against the cooling air currents flowing on the bat skin during flight. Fur hairs are very thin （4 - 7 μm）, and they have an elaborated cuticle made of pointed expansions similar in texture with that of the cortex. Cuticle ceils form hook-like grasping points that allow to keep hairs stuck together. In this way the pelage remains compact in order to maintain body temperature.
基金supported by the Beijing Natural Science Foundation(No.7132127)the Innovative Research Team in Beijing University of Chinese Medicine(No.2011-CXTD-13),China
文摘Our previous studies had confirmed that the essential oil from Zanthoxylum bungeanum Maxim. （Z. bungeanum oil） could effectively enhance the percutaneous permeation of drug molecules as a natural transdermal penetration enhancer. The aim of the present study is to investigate and compare the skin penetration enhancement effect of Z. bungeanum oil and its main components on traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） active components. Toxicities of Z. bungeanum oil and three selected terpene compounds （terpinen-4-ol, 1,8-cineole, and limonene） in epidermal keratinocytes （HaCaT） and dermal flbroblast （CCC-ESF-1） cell lines were measured using an MTT （3-（4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl）-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide） assay. Five model drugs in TCM external preparations, namely osthole （OT）, tetramethylpyrazine （TMP）, ferulic acid （FA）, puerarin （PR）, and geniposide （GP）, which were selected based on their lipophilicity denoted by IogKo^w, were tested using in vitro permeation studies in which vertical Franz diffusion ceils and rat abdominal skin were employed. The secondary structure changes of skin stratum corneum （SC） and drug thermodynamic activities were investigated to understand their mechanisms of action using Fourier transform infrared （FTIR） spectroscopy and saturation solubility studies, respectively. It was found that Z. bungeanum oil showed lower toxicities in both HaCaT cells and CCC-ESF-1 cells compared with three terpene compounds used alone. The enhancement permeation capacities by all tested agents were in the following increasing order： terpinen-4-ol=1,8-cineole〈limonene〈Z, bungeanum oil. The mechanisms of permeation enhancement suggested that these enhancers promoted the skin permeation of drugs mainly by affecting SC lipids. These results indicated that Z. bungeanum oil exhibited better performance in enhancing the skin permeation of active components in TCM preparations.
