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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2009 Jul 1.
Published in final edited form as: J Invest Dermatol. 2009 Jan 29;129(7):1719–1729. doi: 10.1038/jid.2008.442

Figure 5. Persistence of corneodesmosomes (CDs) in the upper SC of darkly pigmented skin is paralleled by decreased SP dependent degradation of Desmosglein-1 (DSG-1).

Figure 5

(a–c) Darkly pigmented subjects have significant retention of CDs in the upper SC as shown by quantitative electron microscopy. In contrast, the CDs in the upper SC of lightly pigmented skin appeared to be degraded osmium tetroxide postfixation (Bar = 1 μm). CD and cornified envelope (CE) length was measured in sequential electron micrographs by planimetry, and CD length was expressed as a percentage of CE length. Results shown represent means ± SEM. (d) Immunofluorescence staining shows parallel retention of DSG-1 in the SC of darkly pigmented skin despite comparable DSG-1 expression at stratum granulosum level. Bar = 40 μm.