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. 2021 Oct 1;11(6):1905–1915. doi: 10.1007/s13555-021-00611-y

Fig. 1.

Fig. 1

Mechanism of action of urea on the skin. Urea transport is mediated through specific transporters (UT-A1, UT-A2, aquaporin-3 and aquaporin-9). Urea upregulates these transporters and gene expression involved in keratinocyte differentiation, lipid synthesis and antimicrobial peptide production, thus enhancing skin barrier function and antimicrobial defense