What is it about?
Our pilot study suggests that melanocortin peptides are not uniformely photoprotective to skin cells. With regard to mitochondrial DNA damage, a hallmark of intrinsic aging, melanocortin peptides such as alpha-MSH may actually increase mitochondrial DNA damage in concert with UV irradadiation.
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Why is it important?
Melanocortin peptides have recently found their way into clinical dermatology. For example, a superpotent alpha-MSH analogue has recently been approved for the treatment of erythropoetic protoporphyria. Additional trials are being performed on other dermatoses.
Perspectives
The biological impact of such therapies on mitochondrial DNA damage in melanocytes need to be considered and properly investigated. This research may be a novel twist in our current understanding how melanocortins modulate the impact of UV light on skin.
Prof. Markus Böhm
Dept. of Dermatology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Ultraviolet B, melanin and mitochondrial DNA: Photo-damage in human epidermal keratinocytes and melanocytes modulated by alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone, F1000Research, May 2016, Faculty of 1000, Ltd.,
DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.8582.1.
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