New research by chemical and cosmetics company Kao Corporation has found the presence of human RNA in skin sebum.
RNA, unlike DNA, is subject to change in the human body, depending on the person’s physical condition and external environmental factors.
It serves as a template for the synthesis of proteins that perform functions inside the body, such as enzymes or hormones, on the basis of DNA information.
Research into RNA is notoriously difficult to carry out, however, Kao managed to extract RNA from sebum using oil blotting film.
This found that sebum inhibits the activity of the enzyme RNase, which degrades RNA, indicating that RNA is more stable within sebum.
Essentially, this led to the establishment of its RNA Monitoring test, which is capable of analysing up to 10,000 molecules of human RNA expression information.
Meanwhile, these tests also found that patients with atopic dermatitis have less RNA in skin sebum.
According to a study using healthy patients and those with atopic dermatitis, it was found that the latter have an elevated expression of RNA, which is linked to inflammation.
Kao hopes its RNA Monitoring method will enable variations in other skin conditions to be detected.