Send to

Send to

Exp Dermatol. 2017 Aug;26(8):744-747. doi: 10.1111/exd.13268. Epub 2017 Mar 23.

Galanin contributes to ultraviolet irradiation-induced inflammation in

human skin.
Lee MJ1,2,3, Oh JH1,2,3, Park CH1,2,3, Kim KH1,2,3, Lee DH1,2,3, Chung JH1,2,3,4.

Author information
Abstract
Exposure of the skin to ultraviolet (UV) irradiation causes various consequences such as inflammation
and photoageing. Galanin is an active neuropeptide expressed widely in the central nervous system
and peripheral tissues including the skin. Galanin promotes or inhibits inflammation in a context-
dependent manner, but its role in UV irradiation-induced responses in human skin was still unknown.
UV irradiation induced a substantial expression of galanin in primary epidermal keratinocytes in vitro
and in human epidermis in vivo. Galanin knock-down by siRNA transfection markedly inhibited UV
irradiation-induced expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-1, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6 and
cyclooxygenase (COX)-2. Moreover, siRNA-mediated knock-down of GAL2 , a principal galanin receptor
in the skin, led to a considerable decrease in these mediators in keratinocytes. Collectively, our findings
suggest that galanin is an important messenger between the neuroendocrine system and UV
irradiation-damaged skin.
KEYWORDS:
galanin; inflammation; ultraviolet