Abstract
Treating mouse skin with dexamethasone (DXME, 1 μmoI) after a single TPA (3.25 nmol) application, inhibited both the dermal inflammatory reaction and the induction of epidermal ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activity. At the hyperplastic stage, DXME was active against inflammation, though inhibited weakly the induction of ODC. In DXME-protected skin, the hyperplastic stage was delayed; unexpectedly, before that stage, 12-O-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate (TPA) induced strongly ODC activity in the epidermal cell layer. Provided that the proliferation process was induced, epidermal cells were increasingly sensitive toward TPA action; they may have been less dependent on inflammatory factors which may modulate the induction of ODC.