TY - JOUR
T1 - Lipid composition of the stratum corneum in different regions of the body of Kuhl's pipistrelle from the Negev Desert, Israel
AU - Cockley, Alexis
AU - Champagne, Alex M.
AU - Ben-Hamo, Miriam
AU - Pinshow, Berry
AU - Korine, Carmi
AU - Muñoz-Garcia, Agustí
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank Joseph B. Williams for his comments on previous versions of this manuscript. We also thank Jennifer Ro for her help on the optimization of the mass spectrometry protocol, and Alia Stone and Priscila Santos for their help with data collection. This research was supported by grant number 2008469 of the US-Israel Binational National Science Foundation to CK and Joseph B. Williams, and a Blaustein Postdoctoral Fellowship and a VATAT fellowship from the Council of Higher Education, awarded to AMG. This research was done under permit # 37066 from the Israel Nature andParks Authority , and under permits BGU-R-07-2009 and BGU-R-06-2009 (to AMG and BP, respectively) from the Ben-Gurion University Committee for the Ethical Care and Use of Animals in Experiments. This is paper number 1105 of the Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology.
Funding Information:
We thank Joseph B. Williams for his comments on previous versions of this manuscript. We also thank Jennifer Ro for her help on the optimization of the mass spectrometry protocol, and Alia Stone and Priscila Santos for their help with data collection. This research was supported by grant number 2008469 of the US-Israel Binational National Science Foundation to CK and Joseph B. Williams, and a Blaustein Postdoctoral Fellowship and a VATAT fellowship from the Council of Higher Education, awarded to AMG. This research was done under permit # 37066 from the Israel Nature andParks Authority, and under permits BGU-R-07-2009 and BGU-R-06-2009 (to AMG and BP, respectively) from the Ben-Gurion University Committee for the Ethical Care and Use of Animals in Experiments. This is paper number 1105 of the Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Elsevier Inc.
PY - 2021/12/1
Y1 - 2021/12/1
N2 - The most superficial epidermal layer in endotherms is the stratum corneum (SC), which is composed of dead corneocytes embedded in a lipid matrix with free fatty acids, cholesterol, ceramides, and cerebrosides; the lipid composition of the SC determines its permeability to water vapor. Lipids that are more polar, have longer hydrocarbon chains, and are less bulky are often packed in more ordered phase states to slow cutaneous evaporative water loss (CEWL); these lipids also resist transitions to more disordered phases at high ambient temperatures (Ta). In bats, wing and tail membranes (wing patagia and tail uropatagium, respectively) allow powered flight, but increase surface area, and hence CEWL, with implications for survival in arid environments. We captured Pipistrellus kuhlii from an arid habitat and measured the lipid composition of the SC of the plagiopatagium in the wing, the uropatagium, and the non-membranous region (NMR) of the body using thin layer chromatography and reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography coupled with atmospheric pressure photoionization mass spectrometry. The patagia contained more cholesterol and shorter-chained ceramides, and fewer cerebrosides than the NMR, indicating that the lipid phase transition temperature in the patagia is lower than in the NMR. Thus, at moderate Ta the lipids in the SC in all body regions will remain in an ordered phase state, allowing water conservation; but as Ta increases, the lipids in the SC of the patagia will more easily transition into a disordered phase, resulting in increased CEWL from the patagia facilitating efficient heat dissipation in hot environments.
AB - The most superficial epidermal layer in endotherms is the stratum corneum (SC), which is composed of dead corneocytes embedded in a lipid matrix with free fatty acids, cholesterol, ceramides, and cerebrosides; the lipid composition of the SC determines its permeability to water vapor. Lipids that are more polar, have longer hydrocarbon chains, and are less bulky are often packed in more ordered phase states to slow cutaneous evaporative water loss (CEWL); these lipids also resist transitions to more disordered phases at high ambient temperatures (Ta). In bats, wing and tail membranes (wing patagia and tail uropatagium, respectively) allow powered flight, but increase surface area, and hence CEWL, with implications for survival in arid environments. We captured Pipistrellus kuhlii from an arid habitat and measured the lipid composition of the SC of the plagiopatagium in the wing, the uropatagium, and the non-membranous region (NMR) of the body using thin layer chromatography and reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography coupled with atmospheric pressure photoionization mass spectrometry. The patagia contained more cholesterol and shorter-chained ceramides, and fewer cerebrosides than the NMR, indicating that the lipid phase transition temperature in the patagia is lower than in the NMR. Thus, at moderate Ta the lipids in the SC in all body regions will remain in an ordered phase state, allowing water conservation; but as Ta increases, the lipids in the SC of the patagia will more easily transition into a disordered phase, resulting in increased CEWL from the patagia facilitating efficient heat dissipation in hot environments.
KW - Desert bats
KW - Epidermal lipids
KW - Kuhl's pipistrelle
KW - P. kuhlii
KW - Stratum corneum
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85114828691&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.cbpa.2021.111074
DO - 10.1016/j.cbpa.2021.111074
M3 - Article
C2 - 34517130
AN - SCOPUS:85114828691
VL - 262
JO - Comparative biochemistry and physiology. Part A, Molecular & integrative physiology
JF - Comparative biochemistry and physiology. Part A, Molecular & integrative physiology
SN - 1095-6433
M1 - 111074
ER -