(Latin, meaning fat or tallow ) Is produced by sebaceous glands and its main function is to protect and waterproof hair and skin, and keep them from becoming dry, brittle, and cracked. It can also inhibit the growth of microorganisms on skin. In the sebaceous glands, sebum is produced within specialized cells and is released as these cells burst; sebaceous glands are thus classified as holocrine glands. In humans, the composition of sebum is as follows: 25% wax monoesters, 41% triglycerides, 16% free fatty acids and 12% squalene.
Published in Chapter:
The Sebaceous Gland: A Model of Hormonal Aging
Evgenia Makrantonaki (Dessau Medical Center, Germany and Charité Universitaetsmedizin Berlin, Germany)
Copyright: © 2009
|Pages: 7
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-60566-076-9.ch019
Abstract
This chapter introduces an in vitro model as a means of studying human hormonal aging. For this purpose, human sebaceous gland cells were maintained under a hormone-substituted environment. This environment consisted of growth factors and sex steroids in concentrations corresponding to those circulating in young and postmenopausal women. The authors suggest that hormone decline, occurring with age, may play a significant role not only in the maintenance of skin homeostasis but also in the initiation of aging. Furthermore, skin, the largest organ of the body, offers an alternative approach to understanding the molecular mechanisms underlining the aging process.