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Stratum corneum ceramide profiles in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo: characterization of the α-hydroxy double esterified ceramides

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Abstract

The presence of a new ceramide subclass, the 1-O-acyl omega-linoleoyloxy ceramides [1-O-E (EO) Cer], has been previously highlighted in reconstructed human epidermis (RHE). These ceramides are double esterified on two positions. The first is the 1-O position of the sphingoid base moiety with a long to very long chain of acyl residues (1-O-E), and the second is the position of the ω-hydroxyl group of the fatty acid moiety with linoleic acid (EO). Considering its chemical structure and hydrophobicity, this subclass can contribute to the skin barrier. Thus, it is important to determine whether this subclass is also present in native human stratum corneum (SC). This work compares ceramide structures of this novel subclass between RHE (in vitro) and two sources of human SC (in vivo and ex vivo) using normal-phase high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry (NP-HPLC/HR-MSn). The results confirm the presence of this double esterified ceramide subclass [1-O-E (EO) Cer] in human SC. The molecular profile obtained from the RHE was very close to that found in the human SC (in vivo and ex vivo). In addition, thanks to the targeted MS2/MS3 analysis, a new ceramide subclass was discovered and characterized in the three studied samples. We propose to name it [A-1-O-E (EO) Cer] because in these ceramides species, the fatty acid—esterified with the sphingoid base on the 1-O position—is hydroxylated on the α position. These results highlight the potential of both the analytical method and the characterization approach employed in this study.

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Abbreviations

APPI:

Atmospheric pressure photoionization

Cer:

Ceramide

FFAs:

Free fatty acids

HR-MSn :

High-resolution mass spectrometry

LC:

Liquid chromatography

NP-HPLC:

Normal-phase high-performance liquid chromatography

RHE:

Reconstructed human epidermis

RT:

Retention time

SC:

Stratum corneum

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Acknowledgements

Financial support: The authors would like to thank the SILAB - Jean PAUFIQUE Corporate Foundation for financial support for this work. We would like to thank the Platform for the Analysis of Drugs and Metabolites (SAMM) at the University of Paris-Saclay for the technical support.

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  1. Lipides: systèmes analytiques et biologiques, Université Paris-Saclay, 5 rue Jean-Baptiste Clément, 92296, Châtenay-Malabry, France

    Joudi Bakar, Rime Michael-Jubeli, Danielle Libong, Arlette Baillet-Guffroy & Ali Tfayli

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  1. Joudi Bakar
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Correspondence to Rime Michael-Jubeli.

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Human skin was acquired with donor consent and with certified ethical procedures from patients undergoing cosmetic surgery at Rangueil Hospital, Toulouse, France.

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Bakar, J., Michael-Jubeli, R., Libong, D. et al. Stratum corneum ceramide profiles in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo: characterization of the α-hydroxy double esterified ceramides. Anal Bioanal Chem 414, 3675–3685 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-022-04011-9

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