The intercellular lipids of the stratum corneum, which are highly enriched in ceramides, are critical for the mammalian epidermal permeability barrier. During the terminal stages of epidermal differentiation, the glucosylceramide content is dramatically reduced, while the content of free ceramides increases. To investigate whether beta-glucocerebrosidase (beta-GlcCer'ase) could be responsible for this change in lipid content, we characterized its activity in murine epidermis, compared enzyme activity to other murine tissues, and localized beta-GlcCer'ase activity within the epidermis. Epidermal extracts demonstrated linear 4-methylumbelliferyl-beta-D-glucose hydrolysis (to 3 h) with protein concentrations between 1 and 250 micrograms/ml. Whole epidermis contained comparable beta-glucosidase activity (9.1 +/- 0.4 nmol/min per mg DNA) to murine brain and liver, and 5-fold higher activity than spleen. Epidermal beta-glucosidase activity was stimulated greater than 15-fold by sodium taurocholate at pH 5.6, and inhibited at acidic pH (3.5-4.0). Bromoconduritol B epoxide (greater than or equal to 1.0 microM), inhibited epidermal enzyme activity by greater than 75%, while activity in brain, liver, and spleen was only inhibited by 6, 17, and 14%, respectively. Moreover, beta-GlcCer'ase mRNA expression in murine epidermis exceeded levels in liver, brain, and spleen. Finally, beta-GlcCer'ase activity was highest in the outer, more differentiated epidermal cell layers including the stratum corneum. In summary, mammalian epidermis contains an usually high percentage (approximately 75%) of beta-glucocerebrosidase activity, and the concentration of activity in the more differentiated cell layers may account for the replacement of glucosylceramide by ceramides in the outer epidermis.