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The permeability barrier in the epidermis of the grass snake during the resting stage of the sloughing cycle

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Summary

Tracer and freeze-fracture replication techniques show that there are two morphologically and topographically distinct permeability barriers in the epidermis of the grass snake. Tight junctions interconnect the apico-lateral plasma membranes of the uppermost living cells, establishing an ionic or osmotic gradient between the stratum germinativum and alpha layer. The second barrier is formed by intercellular lipid sheets in the overlying mesos layer, which are very similar to the barrier found in the stratum corneum of mammals.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomy, University of Basel, Pestalozzistr. 20, CH-4056, Basel, Switzerland

    Lukas Landmann, Christopher Stolinski & Barry Martin

  2. Department of Anatomy, St. Mary's Hospital Medical School, London, UK

    Lukas Landmann, Christopher Stolinski & Barry Martin

Authors
  1. Lukas Landmann
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  2. Christopher Stolinski
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  3. Barry Martin
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Landmann, L., Stolinski, C. & Martin, B. The permeability barrier in the epidermis of the grass snake during the resting stage of the sloughing cycle. Cell Tissue Res. 215, 369–382 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00239121

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00239121

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