The Structure of Skin
Before
having a better understanding of the causes and symptoms of the Epidermolysis
Bullosa (EB) let’s take a look on the structure of the skin.
Human
skin is made up of 3 layers:
The
Epidermis : The outer layer of the skin.
The
Dermis : The middle layer of skin
The
Subcutis : the deepest layer of skin,
mainly made up of fat
The ‘Epidermis’
and ‘Dermis’ meet at a point which is known as ‘Basement Membrane Zone’ (BMZ).
This contains specialized proteins like ‘Laminin-332’ ~ acts as a kind of cellular glue ~ which keep the two layers stuck securely together.
Mutation of genes can cause one or more of the proteins
in the BMZ to not work properly. This means that trauma of friction to an area
of skin could result in the ‘epidermis’ and ‘dermis’ becoming unstuck. If the
two layers become separated, a space is created which is then filled with fluid
to form a blister.
No comments:
Post a Comment