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
. 2022 Jun 13;19(12):7246.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph19127246.

Tetracyclines-An Important Therapeutic Tool for Dermatologists

Malgorzata Orylska-Ratynska  1 , Waldemar Placek  1 , Agnieszka Owczarczyk-Saczonek  1
Affiliations
Review

Tetracyclines-An Important Therapeutic Tool for Dermatologists

Malgorzata Orylska-Ratynska et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Tetracyclines are a group of antibiotics whose first representative was discovered over 70 years ago. Since then, they have been of great interest in dermatology. In addition to their antibacterial activity, they are able to inhibit metalloproteinases and exhibit anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic and antioxidant effects. The side effects have been thoroughly studied over the years, the most characteristic and important ones in daily dermatological practice being: phototoxicity, hyperpigmentation, onycholysis, photoonycholysis, induced lupus erythematosus, and idiopathic intracranial hypertension. In this article, we summarize the use of tetracyclines in infectious diseases and inflammatory dermatoses, and further discuss the instances where the efficacy and safety of tetracyclines have been highlighted over the past few years.

Keywords: doxycycline; limecycline; minocycline; non-antibiotic properties; pleiotrophy; tetracyclines.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

References

    1. Duggar B.M. Aureomycin: A product of the continuing search for new antibiotics. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 1948;51:177–181. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1948.tb27262.x. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ian C., Marilyn R. Tetracycline Antibiotics: Mode of Action, Applications, Molecular Biology, and Epidemiology of Bacterial Resistance. Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. 2001;65:232–260. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Zakeri B.W.G. Chemical biology of tetracycline antibiotics. Biochem. Cell Biol. 2008;86:124–136. doi: 10.1139/O08-002. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Nelson M.L. Chemical and biological dynamics of tetracyclines. Adv. Dent. Res. 1998;12:5–11. doi: 10.1177/08959374980120011901. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Griffin M.O., Ceballos G., Villarreal F.J. Tetracycline compounds with non-antimicrobial organ protective properties: Possible mechanisms of action. Pharmacol. Res. 2011;63:102–107. doi: 10.1016/j.phrs.2010.10.004. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources