Role of PKC-delta as a signal mediator in epidermal barrier homeostasis

The skin shows an important epidermal permeability barrier homeostasis in response to barrier disruption. Calcium ion (Ca2+), a major regulator in keratinocyte differentiation and proliferation, plays a crucial role in skin barrier homeostasis. Acute barrier disruption induces an immediate depletion of both extra- and intracellular calcium ions in the epidermis, especially in the upper granular layers, and results in the loss of normal epidermal calcium gradient. Currently, we hypothesize that the change in the intracellular calcium ion concentration triggers the barrier repair responses, such as lamellar body (LB) secretion and increased lipid synthesis in the epidermis. In this article, we suggest that PKC-delta is a signaling mediator for the changes in extracellular and intracellular calcium ion concentration.