corneocyte
Sign in to saveCorneocytes are terminally differentiated keratinocytes and compose most of the stratum corneum, the outermost layer of the epidermis. They are regularly replaced through desquamation and renewal from lower epidermal layers and are essential for its function as a skin barrier.
~9 min read
Article
16 sectionsContents
- Structure
- Formation
- Functions
- Intracellular structures
- Natural moisturizing factors
- Extracellular structures
- Lamellar bodies
- Intercellular lipids (lamellar lipid bilayer)
- Cornified envelope
- Corneodesmosomes and desquamation
- Pathologies
- Dry skin (xerosis)
- Localization
- See also
- References
- Further reading
Corneocytes are terminally differentiated keratinocytes and compose most of the stratum corneum, the outermost layer of the epidermis. They are regularly replaced through desquamation and renewal from lower epidermal layers and are essential for its function as a skin barrier.
== Structure == Corneocytes are keratinocytes without nuclei and cytoplasmic organelles. They contain a highly insoluble cornified envelope within the plasma membrane, and lipids (fatty acids, sterols and ceramides) released from lamellar bodies within the epidermis. The corneocytes are interlocked with each other and organized as vertical columns of 10–30 cells to form the stratum corneum.