Dietary lipids are largely deposited in skin and rapidly affect insulating properties

Skin is a regulatory hub for energy expenditure and metabolism, and alteration of lipid metabolism enzymes in skin impacts thermogenesis and obesogenesis in mice. Here we show that thermal properties of skin are highly reactive to diet: within three days, a high fat diet reduces heat transfer through skin. In contrast, a dietary manipulation that prevents obesity accelerates energy loss through skins. We find that skin is the largest target for dietary fat delivery, and that dietary triglyceride is assimilated by epidermis and dermal white adipose tissue, persisting for weeks after feeding. With caloric-restriction, mouse skins thin and assimilation of circulating lipids decreases. Using multi-modal lipid profiling, keratinocytes and sebocytes are implicated in lipid changes, which correlate with thermal function. We propose that skin should be routinely included in physiological studies of lipid metabolism, given the size of the skin lipid reservoir and its adaptable functionality.

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Publication Details

Journal
Nature Communications
Published
2025-05-16
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-59869-x
Citations
5
Primary Topic
Skin Protection and Aging
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
10.02

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article

Dietary lipids are largely deposited in skin and rapidly affect insulating properties

Judith Simcox, Ildikó Kasza, Greg Barrett-Wilt, Dudley W. Lamming et al.
5 citations
Nature Communications
Skin Protection and Aging
10.02
article

Dietary lipids are largely deposited in skin and rapidly affect insulating properties

Judith Simcox, Ildikó Kasza, Greg Barrett-Wilt, Dudley W. Lamming, Chi–Liang Eric Yen, Raghav Jain, Ormond A. MacDougald, Isabel D. K. Hermsmeyer, Caroline M. Alexander, Michaela E. Trautman, Nick Riley
article en
5 citations

Abstract

Skin is a regulatory hub for energy expenditure and metabolism, and alteration of lipid metabolism enzymes in skin impacts thermogenesis and obesogenesis in mice. Here we show that thermal properties of skin are highly reactive to diet: within three days, a high fat diet reduces heat transfer through skin. In contrast, a dietary manipulation that prevents obesity accelerates energy loss through skins. We find that skin is the largest target for dietary fat delivery, and that dietary triglyceride is assimilated by epidermis and dermal white adipose tissue, persisting for weeks after feeding. With caloric-restriction, mouse skins thin and assimilation of circulating lipids decreases. Using multi-modal lipid profiling, keratinocytes and sebocytes are implicated in lipid changes, which correlate with thermal function. We propose that skin should be routinely included in physiological studies of lipid metabolism, given the size of the skin lipid reservoir and its adaptable functionality.

Nature CommunicationsVol. 16(1)
Howard Hughes Medical Institute (US), University of Wisconsin–Madison (US), University of Michigan (US), IONICS Mass Spectrometry (Canada) (CA), William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital (US)
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Wisconsin-Madison, National Institute on Aging, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, Division of Graduate Education
Zero hunger
Openalex Percentile: Top 2%
Skin Protection and Aging
10.02
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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