title: Menopause increases the iron storage protein ferritin in skin.
abstract: Menstruation and desquamation are important routes for humans to excrete iron. Because menstruation is no longer available in postmenopausal women, in the present study, we examined whether iron accumulates more in postmenopausal skin than in premenopausal skin. Skin biopsy samples were obtained from six pre- and six postmenopausal Caucasian women. Iron levels in the form of ferritin were 42% higher, but vascular endothelial growth factor and total antioxidant capacity were 45% and 34% lower in postmenopausal skin (58.8 ± 1.3 years old) than in premenopausal skin (41.6 ± 1.7 years old), respectively. Moreover, in vitro cultured normal human epidermal keratinocytes had surprisingly high levels of ferritin when compared to immortalized human breast epithelial MCF-10A cells or human liver HepG2 cancer cells. Our results indicate that skin is a cellular repository of iron and that menopause increases iron in skin and, thus, may contribute to the manifestation of accelerated skin aging and photo aging after menopause.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine and Environmental Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, NY, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Edward
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pelle
authors.forename: Jinlong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jian
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Neelam
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Muizzuddin
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Jisen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Maes
authors.forename: Nadine
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pernodet
authors.forename: Daniel B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Yarosh
authors.forename: Krystyna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Frenkel
authors.forename: Xi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005260:Female; D005293:Ferritins / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008593:Menopause; D008875:Middle Aged; D012867:Skin / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D005293:Ferritins