QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s):
Home     Help     Feedback     Subscriptions     Archive     Search     Table of Contents

First published online May 2, 2008
Journal of Experimental Biology 211, 1690-1695 (2008)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2008
doi: 10.1242/jeb.017186

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Gu, Y. Articles by Williams, J. B. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Gu, Y. Articles by Williams, J. B. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Cutaneous water loss and sphingolipids covalently bound to corneocytes in the stratum corneum of house sparrows Passer domesticus

Yu Gu^1,*, Agustí Muñoz-Garcia^1,, Johnie C. Brown², Jennifer Ro¹ and Joseph B. Williams¹

¹ Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, 318 W. 12th Avenue, Aronoff Laboratory, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
² Applied Biosystems, 500 Old Connecticut Path, Framingham, MA 01710, USA

Author for correspondence (e-mail: address: munoz-garcia.1{at}osu.edu)

Accepted 25 March 2008

The barrier to water loss from the skin of birds and mammals is localized in the stratum corneum (SC), the outer layer of the epidermis. The SC consists of corneocytes, each surrounded by a protein envelope, and a lipid compartment, formed by an extracellular matrix of lipids and by lipids covalently bound to the protein envelope. In mammals, covalently bound lipids in the SC consist of -hydroxyceramides attached to the outer surface of corneocytes. Evidence suggests that covalently bound lipids in the SC might be crucial for the establishment of a competent permeability barrier. In this study we assessed the composition of covalently bound lipids of the avian SC and their relationship to cutaneous water loss (CWL) in two populations of house sparrows, one living in the deserts of Saudi Arabia and the other in mesic Ohio. Previously, we showed that CWL of adult desert sparrows was 25% lower than that of mesic birds. In the present study we characterize covalently bound lipids of the SC using thin layer chromatography and high performance liquid chromatography coupled with atmospheric pressure Photospray® ionization mass spectrometry. Our study is the first to demonstrate the existence of sphingolipids covalently bound to corneocytes in the SC of birds. Although -hydroxyceramides occurred in the lipid envelope surrounding corneocytes, the major constituent of the covalently bound lipid envelope in house sparrows was -hydroxycerebrosides, ceramides with a hexose molecule attached. Sparrows from Saudi Arabia had more covalently bound cerebrosides, fewer covalently bound ceramides and a lower ceramide to cerebroside ratio than sparrows living in Ohio; these differences were associated with CWL.

Key words: covalently bound lipid, house sparrows, desert, cutaneous water loss

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				H. B. Lillywhite, J. G. Menon, G. K. Menon, C. M. Sheehy 3rd, and M. C. Tu Water exchange and permeability properties of the skin in three species of amphibious sea snakes (Laticauda spp.) J. Exp. Biol., June 15, 2009; 212(12): 1921 - 1929. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]