The Caucasian and African skin types differ morphologically and functionally in their dermal component.

In the literature, most reported differences between African and Caucasian skin properties concern pigmentation and barrier function of the stratum corneum and related photoprotective properties. However, little is known about differences in morphology and possibly related biological functions. In this study, we investigated: (i) architectural differences of Caucasian and African mammary skin biopsies using microscopy, (ii) comparative constitutive expression of cytokines, matrix metalloproteinase 1 (MMP-1) and its inhibitors in papillary dermal fibroblast (pF) and reticular dermal fibroblast (rF) cultures in order to reveal biological features.