Free Radicals and Skin
Basic Research, Aging, Photocarcinogenesis
4th Teupitzer Colloquium
September 28 to October 1, 2001
Guest Editors: C.E. Orfanos, Berlin; B. Tebbe, Berlin

Paper

Antioxidants and the Response of Skin to Oxidative Stress: Vitamin E as a Key Indicator
Lester Packer^a, Giuseppe Valacchi<sup>b

a</sup>University of Southern California, Molecular Pharmacology and Toxicology School of Pharmacy, Los Angeles, Calif.,
^bCenter for Comparative Respiratory Biology and Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, University of California, Davis, Calif., USA

Address of Corresponding Author

Skin Pharmacology and Applied Skin Physiology 2002;15:282-290 (DOI: 10.1159/000064531)

  Key Words

• Skin
• Heat stress proteins
• Lipid peroxidation
• Antioxidants
• Vitamin E

  Abstract

As the outermost barrier of the body, the skin is directly and frequently exposed to a prooxidative environment, including solar UVA and UVB radiation, and air pollution. The skin is equipped with an elaborate system of antioxidant substances and enzymes that includes a network of redox active antioxidants. Among these, vitamin E has been identified as the predominant antioxidant both in murine and human skin and shows a characteristic gradient with lower levels towards the outer stratum corneum layers. Skin exposure to UV and ozon alone and in combination resulted in a significant potentiation of the UV-induced vitamin E depletion. Oxidants and antioxidants play an important role in maintaining a balance between free radicals produced by metabolism or derived from environmental sources. Cellular antioxidants may change their redox state, be targeted for destruction, regulate oxidative process involved in signal transduction, affect gene expression and pathways of cell proliferation and death. Here we provide an overview of the antioxidant system with a special relevance to skin.

Copyright © 2002 S. Karger AG, Basel

  Author Contacts

Lester Packer
University of Southern California
Molecular Pharmacology and Toxicology School of Pharmacy
Los Angeles, CA 90089-9621 (USA), Tel. +1 510 865 5461
Fax +1 323 224 7473, E-Mail packerresearch@aol.com

  Article Information

Number of Print Pages : 9
Number of Figures : 4, Number of Tables : 1, Number of References : 56