In Vitro Glucose Metabolism in the Epidermis and Dermis of the Pig

Glucose metabolism was studied in skin slices prepared with a dermatome and obtained from the mid-lumbar region of young pigs. The first slice, comprising the epidermis was 0.1 micron thick, whereas all subsequent slices were prepared from the dermis and were 0.2 micron thick. Each precooled slice was incubated for 2 hours at 37 degrees in a Dubnoff metabolic incubator in 3 ml of Krebs-Ringer buffer containing 30 micromoles glucose and 0.5 micron Ci of U-C14-glucose. At the end of the incubation period glucose oxidation and glucose incorporation into various metabolites were determined. The results show that glucose oxidation was most active in the epidermis and the first section of the dermis. In the deeper layers of the dermis glucose oxidation was markedly diminished and was minimal in the central region of the dermis.