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Review
. 2024 Apr 29;25(9):4858.
doi: 10.3390/ijms25094858.

Melatonin/Sericin Wound Healing Patches: Implications for Melanoma Therapy

Katarzyna Adamiak  1 , Vivian A Gaida  2 , Jasmin Schäfer  2 , Lina Bosse  2 , Clara Diemer  2 , Russel J Reiter  3 , Andrzej T Slominski  4   5 , Kerstin Steinbrink  2 , Alina Sionkowska  1 , Konrad Kleszczyński  2
Affiliations
Review

Melatonin/Sericin Wound Healing Patches: Implications for Melanoma Therapy

Katarzyna Adamiak et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Melatonin and sericin exhibit antioxidant properties and may be useful in topical wound healing patches by maintaining redox balance, cell integrity, and regulating the inflammatory response. In human skin, melatonin suppresses damage caused by ultraviolet radiation (UVR) which involves numerous mechanisms associated with reactive oxygen species/reactive nitrogen species (ROS/RNS) generation and enhancing apoptosis. Sericin is a protein mainly composed of glycine, serine, aspartic acid, and threonine amino acids removed from the silkworm cocoon (particularly Bombyx mori and other species). It is of interest because of its biodegradability, anti-oxidative, and anti-bacterial properties. Sericin inhibits tyrosinase activity and promotes cell proliferation that can be supportive and useful in melanoma treatment. In recent years, wound healing patches containing sericin and melatonin individually have attracted significant attention by the scientific community. In this review, we summarize the state of innovation of such patches during 2021-2023. To date, melatonin/sericin-polymer patches for application in post-operational wound healing treatment has been only sparingly investigated and it is an imperative to consider these materials as a promising approach targeting for skin tissue engineering or regenerative dermatology.

Keywords: biomaterials; hydrogels; melatonin; scaffolds; sericin; skin regeneration; wound healing.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Cellular changes induced by ultraviolet radiation (UVR) including enhanced oxidative stress (ROS/RNS generation), mitochondrial dysfunction, DNA damage and protective action of melatonin as well as its kynuric (AFMK, AMK) and indolic (6(OH)MEL, 5-MT) metabolites.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The cascade reaction with ROS/RNS products (or metabolites) of melatonin which are involved in terms of attenuation of UVR-induced changes as described above and presented in Figure 1.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Melatonin/sericin-loaded matrix systems and their potential impact on skin-related applications.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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