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Current Pharmaceutical Design

Editor-in-Chief

ISSN (Print): 1381-6128
ISSN (Online): 1873-4286

Review Article

Heme Oxygenase and the Skin in Health and Disease

Author(s): Imre Lorinc Szabo*, Anna Kenyeres, Andrea Szegedi and Attila Gabor Szollosi

Volume 24, Issue 20, 2018

Page: [2303 - 2310] Pages: 8

DOI: 10.2174/1381612824666180717155953

Price: $65

Abstract

The skin is often introduced as the largest organ of the human body which – being uniquely exposed to external stress – faces several types of challenges, from physical, chemical, biological, and immunological origin. Therefore, the skin is also a site where inflammation, oxidative stress and cellular damage occurs regularly. Heme oxygenase (HO), primarily functioning in the catabolism of heme, is a very important cytoprotective enzyme that has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic properties. Given the need for an enzyme with such a combination of attributes in the skin, it is not surprising that HO is involved in physiological processes as well as pathological conditions of the skin. In the recent decade, a huge effort was undertaken to identify treatments that modify HO-activity for the treatment of inflammatory or malignant skin diseases. In this review, we highlight the role of HO in the skin in physiological conditions as well as in relevant dermatological diseases such as atopic dermatitis, psoriasis and melanoma.

Keywords: Heme oxygenase, oxidative stress, skin, psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, melanoma.


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