Address of Corresponding Author

Dermatology 2006;212:23-26 (DOI: 10.1159/000089017)

  Key Words

• Antimicrobial peptide
• Corneocyte
• Defensin
• Dandruff
• Malassezia
• Nitric oxide
• Seborrheic dermatitis

  Abstract

Pityrosporoses encompass various Malassezia-driven conditions. Dandruff and seborrheic dermatitis are members of this family of disorders. Their precise pathomechanisms have not been completely elucidated so far. This review focuses on the role of corneocytes in these disorders. Malassezia yeasts are not evenly distributed at the surface of the stratum corneum. Rather, they are clumped on some corneocytes while other corneocytes in their vicinity are almost free of these microorganisms. The corneocytes heavily coated by yeasts suggest a cell-related defect in the mechanisms controlling the skin biocene including the natural antimicrobial peptides and nitric oxide. Most environmental factors influencing pityrosporoses indeed affect the natural human defenses against certain microorganisms. We frame as a hypothesis that the primary defect in some Malassezia-driven disorders resides in the corneocytes and their precursor keratinocytes.

Copyright © 2006 S. Karger AG, Basel

  Author Contacts

Prof. G.E. Piérard, MD, PhD
Department of Dermatopathology, CHU Sart Tilman
BE-4000 Liège (Belgium)
Tel. +32 43662408, Fax +32 43662976
E-Mail gerald.pierard@ulg.ac.be

  Article Information

Received: May 17, 2005
Accepted: July 28, 2005
Number of Print Pages : 4
Number of Figures : 1, Number of Tables : 0, Number of References : 29