Distribution of macromolecular components in human dermal connective tissue.

Normal human skin was sliced into five horizontal layers and distribution of type I and type III collagens, glycosaminoglycans, and noncollagenous glycoprotein(s) among the five layers was analyzed. No remarkable differences in the relative contents of type I and type III collagens and noncollagenous glycoprotein(s) were detected among the five layers. However, glycosaminoglycan content was higher in the upper layers than in the lower and the ratio of hyaluronic acid to dermatan sulfate was also higher in the upper layers. These results are compared and discussed with our previous data on calf skin.