Effect of Biotin Deficiency Upon the Skin of Mice

Abstract

Summary and Conclusions

In the mouse the growth potentials of the skin and its appendages are not appreciably affected by biotin deficiency, but normal differentiation and function are impaired. There is a slight increase in mitotic activity in the epidermis and in the sebaceous glands. The pilosebaceous units are blocked by keratinized debris and little or no sebum is released upon the surface of the skin. In the sebaceous cells, the stored lipid droplets are much larger than in those of normal animals. Unlike the sebaceous lipids of normal glands, those of biotin deficient mice are isotropic and negative to the Liebermann-Burchard test. There is abundant cellular fragmentation at the periphery of sebaceous glands and the lipids are apparently phagocytized by histiocytes in the dermis. The melanin-bearing cells around the sebaceous cells, when present, also contain lipid droplets. As a rule, neither histiocytes nor melanin-bearing cells contain demonstrable lipids in the skin of normal mice. There is an increase in the number of mesenchymatous cells, mast cells and leukocytic cells in the dermis of biotin deficient mice.