title: Cutaneous vitamins A and E in the context of ultraviolet- or chemically-induced oxidative stress.
abstract: Vitamins A and E are present in mammalian skin. Although the main circulating form of vitamin A in the blood is retinol, the epidermis stores it as retinyl esters. The epidermis can be easily loaded with high amounts of vitamin A by topical application of either retinol or retinaldehyde, two well-tolerated precursors of the biologically active retinoic acid, while topical alpha-tocopherol loads the epidermis with vitamin E. The probable physiological function of epidermal vitamin E is to contribute to the antioxidant defense of the skin, whereas that of epidermal vitamin A (retinol and retinyl esters) is not yet well understood. Besides being a precursor for retinoic acid, vitamin A also has a free radical scavenging potential. Due to their physical properties, vitamins A and E absorb ultraviolet (UV) light in the region of solar spectrum that is responsible for most of the deleterious biological effects of the sun. In the mouse, topical vitamin A has been shown to prevent the UV-induced epidermal hypovitaminosis A, while topical vitamin E prevents oxidative stress and cutaneous and systemic immunosuppression elicited by UV. Thus constitutive epidermal vitamins A and E appear complementary in preventing UV-induced deleterious cutaneous and systemic effects, and these properties can be reinforced by topical application of retinol or retinaldehyde and topical alpha-tocopherol.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland. olivier.sorg@hcuge.ch
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Sorg
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tran
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Saurat
mesh_terms: D000287:Administration, Topical; D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000528:radiation effects*; D012867:Skin / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays; D014801:Vitamin A / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014810:Vitamin E / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D014801:Vitamin A; D014810:Vitamin E