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Cited by 58Optical Imaging and Spectroscopy TechniquesSpectroscopy Techniques in Biomedical and Chemical ResearchOptical Coherence Tomography Applications

Gender variations in the optical properties of skin in murine animal models

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Calabro, Katherine, Curtis, Allison, Galarneau, Jean-Rene, Krucker, Thomas, Bigio, Irving J.·2011·Journal of Biomedical Optics
DOI 10.1117/1.3525565
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Abstract

Gender is identified as a significant source of variation in optical reflectance measurements on mouse skin, with variation in the thickness of the dermal layer being the key explanatory variable. For three different mouse strains, the thickness values of the epidermis, dermis, and hypodermis layers, as measured by histology, are correlated to optical reflectance measurements collected with elastic scattering spectroscopy (ESS). In all three strains, males are found to have up to a 50% increase in dermal thickness, resulting in increases of up to 80% in reflectance values and higher observed scattering coefficients, as compared to females. Collagen in the dermis is identified as the primary source of these differences due to its strong scattering nature; increased dermal thickness leads to a greater photon path length through the collagen, as compared to other layers, resulting in a larger scattering signal. A related increase in the observed absorption coefficient in females is also observed. These results emphasize the importance of considering gender during experimental design in studies that involve photon interaction with mouse skin. The results also elucidate the significant impact that relatively small thickness changes can have on observed optical measurements in layered tissue.

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  • In C57BL6 mice, the epidermis is thinner in males than in females, whereas the dermis is thicker in males.

    “In C57BL6 mice, the epidermis is reported to be thinner in males than that in females, whereas the dermis is thicker in males24, 25.”

    From Morphological characteristics and notes of the skin in preclinical toxicity assessment (2023) · cites this paper as [24]

    Section 3.1 identifies C57Bl/6 as the gray mice, and the Conclusion reports significantly thicker dermal layers in males. The passage headed “Gray” says sex differences in epidermal thickness were not significant for any strain; the available text does not establish that C57Bl/6 males had thinner epidermis than females. Page numbers are unavailable in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.85)

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Calabro, K., Curtis, A., Galarneau, J.-R., Krucker, T., & Bigio, I. J.
Affiliations
  • Boston University (US)
  • Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (CH)
  • Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research, Inc.
ORCID
Bigio, Irving J.
Venue
Journal of Biomedical Optics
Publisher
SPIE-Intl Soc Optical Eng
Published
2011-01-01
Volume
16
Issue
1
Pages
1-8
ISSN
  • 1083-3668 (ISSN-L)
  • 1560-2281
DOI
10.1117/1.3525565
OpenAlex
W2110343102
Cited by
58
References
3
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 2 · 2013: 3 · 2012: 3
FWCI
1.95
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Biomedical Optics (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
Consortia for Improving Medicine with Innovation and Technology
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging › Optical Imaging and Spectroscopy Techniques
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Biophysics › Spectroscopy Techniques in Biomedical and Chemical Research
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Optical Coherence Tomography Applications
Keywords
skin optical properties, sex differences, skin thickness, elastic scattering spectroscopy, optical reflectivity, absorption coefficient, photon path length, mouse skin, epidermis, subcutaneous tissue
MeSH terms
Animals, Female, Humans, Light, Male, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Mice, Nude, Nephelometry and Turbidimetry, Scattering, Radiation, Sex Factors, Skin, Skin Physiological Phenomena, Species Specificity, Models, Animal, Mice, Elasticity Imaging Techniques

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