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To better understand the physiological functions of human meibomian glands (MGs), the present study compared MGs with free sebaceous glands (SGs) and hair-associated SGs of humans using morphological, immunohistochemical, and liquid chromatography\u2014mass spectrometry (LCMS)-based lipidomic approaches. Eyelids with MGs, nostrils, lips, and external auditory canals with free SGs, and scalp with hair-associated SGs of body donors were probed with antibodies against cytokeratins (CK) 1, 8, 10, and 14, stem cell markers keratin 15 and N-cadherin, cell\u2013cell contact markers desmoglein 1 (Dsg1), desmocollin 3 (Dsc3), desmoplakin (Dp), plakoglobin (Pg), and E-cadherin, and the tight junction protein claudin 5. In addition, Oil Red O staining (ORO) was performed in cryosections. Secretions of MGs as well as of SGs of nostrils, external auditory canals, and scalps were collected from healthy volunteers, analyzed by LCMS, and the data were processed using various multivariate statistical analysis approaches. Serial sections of MGs, free SGs, and hair-associated SGs were 3D reconstructed and compared. CK1 was expressed differently in hair-associated SGs than in MGs and other free SGs. The expression levels of CK8, CK10, and CK14 in MGs were different from those in hair-associated SGs and other free SGs. KRT15 was expressed differently in hair-associated SGs, whereas N-cadherin was expressed equally in all types of glands. The cell\u2013cell contact markers Dsg1, Dp, Dsc3, Pg, and E-cadherin revealed no differences. ORO staining showed that lipids in MGs were more highly dispersed and had larger lipid droplets than lipids in other free SGs. Hair-associated SGs had a smaller number of lipid droplets. LCMS revealed that the lipid composition of meibum was distinctively different from that of the sebum of the nostrils, external auditory canals, and scalp. The 3D reconstructions of the different glands revealed different morphologies of the SGs compared with MGs which are by far the largest type of glands. In humans, MGs differ in their morphology and secretory composition and show major differences from free and hair-associated SGs. The composition of meibum differs significantly from that of sebum from free SGs and from hair-associated SGs. Therefore, the MG can be considered as a highly specialized type of holocrine gland that exhibits all the histological characteristics of SGs, but is significantly different from them in terms of morphology and lipid composition.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms25063109","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,3,7]],"date-time":"2024-03-07T11:33:06Z","timestamp":1709811186000},"page":"3109","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":11,"title":["Comparative Characterization of Human Meibomian Glands, Free Sebaceous Glands, and Hair-Associated Sebaceous Glands Based on Biomarkers, Analysis of Secretion Composition, and Gland Morphology"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"25","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7478-4130","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yuqiuhe","family":"Liu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Functional and Clinical Anatomy, Friedrich-Alexander-Universit\u00e4t Erlangen-N\u00fcrnberg, 91054 Erlangen, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Igor A.","family":"Butovich","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Ophthalmology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fabian","family":"Garreis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Functional and Clinical Anatomy, Friedrich-Alexander-Universit\u00e4t Erlangen-N\u00fcrnberg, 91054 Erlangen, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ingrid","family":"Zahn","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Functional and Clinical Anatomy, Friedrich-Alexander-Universit\u00e4t Erlangen-N\u00fcrnberg, 91054 Erlangen, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Michael","family":"Scholz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Functional and Clinical Anatomy, Friedrich-Alexander-Universit\u00e4t Erlangen-N\u00fcrnberg, 91054 Erlangen, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Simone","family":"Gaffling","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Chimaera GmbH, 91058 Erlangen, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Samir","family":"Jabari","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Neuropathology, University Hospital Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-Universit\u00e4t Erlangen-N\u00fcrnberg, 91054 Erlangen, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7211-3168","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jana","family":"Dietrich","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Functional and Clinical Anatomy, Friedrich-Alexander-Universit\u00e4t Erlangen-N\u00fcrnberg, 91054 Erlangen, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0527-0953","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Friedrich","family":"Paulsen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Functional and Clinical Anatomy, Friedrich-Alexander-Universit\u00e4t Erlangen-N\u00fcrnberg, 91054 Erlangen, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,3,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"71","article-title":"The pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of dry eye disease","volume":"112","author":"Messmer","year":"2015","journal-title":"Dtsch. 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