Biography
Biography: Germaine Escamea
Abstract
Skin and particularly its epidermal compartment, when exposed to hostile environments such as radiation, physical injury, chemicals, pollution and microorganisms, requires protective chemical molecules and pathways. Melatonin, one of the evolutionarily oldest and most conserved molecules, with well documented direct radical scavenging activity and indirect antioxidant functions, plays a very important role in skin maintenance. The fact that human skin not only has functional melatonin receptors, but also acts as a complete system capable of producing and regulating melatonin synthesis, makes melatonin a promising candidate for maintaining and protecting skin. It is important to note that recent studies have not only discovered how to better synchronize the skin’s circadian clock and to protect skin from external aggressors, but have also provided further evidence that skin barrier functions are predictably time-dependent and that skin chrono-pharmacology also needs to be considered. New metabolic pathways are involved in melatonin’s protective functions in dermal cells. Th e topical use of melatonin for therapeutic purposes and skin protection has considerable advantages. Moreover, endogenous intracutaneous melatonin production, together with topically-applied exogenous melatonin or metabolites, is expected to be one of the most potent antioxidative and anti-infl ammatory systems of defence against external damage to the skin. Therefore, melatonin could be used therapeutically in future clinical dermatological treatments and also in preventive medicine strategies.
Recent Publications :
1. Slominski A Fischer TW, Zmijewski MA et al., (2005) On the Role of Melatonin in Skin Physiology and Pathology. Endocrine 27: 137–148.
2. Slominsk A, Tobin DJ, Zmijewski MA et al., (2007) Melatonin in the skin: Synthesis, metabolism and functions. TRENDS in Endocrinology and Metabolism 74:3913-3925.
3. Shen YQ, Guerra-Librero A, Fernandez-Gil BI et al., (2017) Combination of melatonin and rapamycin for head and neck cancer therapy: Suppression of AKT/mTOR pathway activation and activation of mitophagy and apoptosis via mitochondrial function regulation. J Pineal Res doi: 10.1111/jpi.12461.
4. Abdel Moneim AE, Guerra-Librero A, Florido J et al., (2017) Oral Mucositis: Melatonin Gel an Eff ective New Treatment. Int J Mol Sci. doi: 10.3390/ijms18051003.
5. Fernández-Gil B, Moneim AE, Ortiz F, Shen YQ et al., (2017) Melatonin protects rats from radiotherapyinduced small intestine toxicity.PLoS One. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0174474.