IMR Press / FBL / Volume 11 / Issue 3 / DOI: 10.2741/1966

Frontiers in Bioscience-Landmark (FBL) is published by IMR Press from Volume 26 Issue 5 (2021). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Frontiers in Bioscience.

Article
Corticotropin releasing hormone and the skin
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1 Department of Pathology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA
2 Department of Histology and Immunology, Medical University of Gdansk, Gdansk, Poland
3 Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Bradford, Bradford, West Yorkshire, Great Britain
4 Department of Internal Medicine, Southern Illinois University, Springfield, Illinois, USA
Front. Biosci. (Landmark Ed) 2006, 11(3), 2230–2248; https://doi.org/10.2741/1966
Published: 1 September 2006
Abstract

Cotricotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) and related peptides are produced in skin that is dependent on species and anatomical location. Local peptide production is regulated by ultraviolet radiation (UVR), glucocorticoids and phase of the hair cycle. The skin also expresses the corresponding receptors (CRH-R1 and CRH-R2), with CRH-R1 being the major receptor in humans. CRH-R1 is expressed in epidermal and dermal compartments, and CRH-R2 predominantly in dermal structures. The gene coding for CRH-R1 generates multiple isoforms through a process modulated by UVR, cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate. The phenotypic effects of CRH in human skin cells are largely mediated by CRH-R1alpha through increases in concentrations of cAMP, inositol triphosphate (IP3), or Ca2+ with subsequent activation of protein kinases A (PKA) and C (PKC) dependent pathways. CRH also modulates the activity of nuclear factor of kappa light polypeptide gene enhancer in B-cells (NF-kappaB), activator protein 1 (AP-1) and cAMP responsive element binding protein (CREB). The cellular functions affected by CRH depend on cell type and nutritional status and include modulation of differentiation program(s), proliferation, viability and immune activity. The accumulated evidence indicates that cutaneous CRH is also a component of a local structure organized similarly to the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis.

Keywords
Human Skin
Hormone
Corticotropin
CRH
CRH-R1
CRH-R2
Urocortin
Review
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