Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2014 Jun;134(6):1512-1518.
doi: 10.1038/jid.2014.65. Epub 2014 Feb 27.

Melanocytes as instigators and victims of oxidative stress

Laurence Denat  1 , Ana L Kadekaro  2 , Laurent Marrot  1 , Sancy A Leachman  3 , Zalfa A Abdel-Malek  4
Affiliations
Review

Melanocytes as instigators and victims of oxidative stress

Laurence Denat et al. J Invest Dermatol. 2014 Jun.

Abstract

Epidermal melanocytes are particularly vulnerable to oxidative stress owing to the pro-oxidant state generated during melanin synthesis, and to the intrinsic antioxidant defenses that are compromised in pathologic conditions. Melanoma is thought to be oxidative stress driven, and melanocyte death in vitiligo is thought to be instigated by a highly pro-oxidant state in the epidermis. We review the current knowledge about melanin and the redox state of melanocytes, how paracrine factors help counteract oxidative stress, the role of oxidative stress in melanoma initiation and progression and in melanocyte death in vitiligo, and how this knowledge can be harnessed for melanoma and vitiligo treatment.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Induction of ROS by endogenous and exogenous sources and antioxidant defences that restore normal redox state in melanocytes.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Generation of ROS by the various steps in the melanin synthetic pathway.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Bohm M, Wolff I, Scholzen TE, et al. alpha-Melanocyte-stimulating hormone protects from ultraviolet radiation-induced apoptosis and DNA damage. J Biol Chem. 2005;280:5795–802. - PubMed
    1. Boissy RE, Manga P. On the etiology of contact/occupational vitiligo. Pigment Cell Res. 2004;17:208–14. - PubMed
    1. Casp CB, She JX, McCormack WT. Genetic association of the catalase gene (CAT) with vitiligo susceptibility. Pigment Cell Research. 2002a;15:62–6. - PubMed
    1. Casp CB, She JX, McCormack WT. Genetic association of the catalase gene (CAT) with vitiligo susceptibility. Pigment Cell Res. 2002b;15:62–6. - PubMed
    1. Cassidy PB, Fain HD, Cassidy JP, Jr, et al. Selenium for the prevention of cutaneous melanoma. Nutrients. 2013;5:725–49. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types