The epidermal permeability barrier necessary for terrestrial life resides in the intercellular spaces of the stratum corneum and is composed of lipids.

Since strrtum corneum lipid may be important for the permeability barrier, we studied the differences and effects of experimentally altered barrier function using acetone and tape-stripping technique.

The permeability barrier of hairless mouse was disrupted by tape-stripping and acetone treatment and the recovery rate was assessed by histochemical staining, electron microscopic examination and lipid analysis.

Although the transepidermal water loss recovered completely by 48 hours in both of the acute models, acetone treated samples seem to have on over-all better recovery rate than tape-stripped samples. The return of barrier function to normal in both tape-stripped and acetone-treated skin was accompanied by a comparable return of normal nile red and ruthenium tetroxide staining. The amount of lipid in stratum corneum paralleled both the return of barrier function towards normal and the extent of prior damage to the barrier in acetone treated skin, yet, the lipid synthesis in tape-stripped skin showed a slower return of lipid content.

The difference in the recovery rate of the two acute models may be due to the fact that acetone mainly extracts intercellular lipids, whereas, tape-stripping has a prolonged effect by removal of comeocyte in addition to the intercellular lipids. This shows the importance of comeocytes as well as the intercellular lipid bilayer in the recovery of normal barrier function.