Oxidative Stress and Skin Diseases: The Role of Lipid Peroxidation

Lipid peroxidation (LPO) is a biochemical process through which lipids are subjected to a peroxidation reaction in the presence of free radicals. The process can cause alterations in biological membranes and the formation of substances harmful to the body that can form aggregates with proteins and nucleic acids. Malondialdehyde (MDA) and 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE) are the main products of LPO. These compounds have cytotoxic and genotoxic properties and contribute to the pathogenesis of various diseases. This research focuses on the correlation between LPO and skin diseases. For some skin diseases, such as psoriasis, vitiligo, and alopecia, LPO products have been shown to have a clear role in the pathogenesis of the disease. Lipid aldehydic products like MDA and 4-HNE can enhance inflammation by stimulating pro-inflammatory genes and producing cytokines. Furthermore, these products can stimulate cell death and increase oxidative stress. For other diseases (atopic dermatitis, urticaria, pemphigus, and melanoma), the role of LPO is unclear, even if the levels of LPO biomarkers are elevated in proportion to the severity of the disease. LPO can also be exploited to counteract the proliferation of neoplastic cells. Therefore, enhancing LPO would play an adjuvant role in the therapy of neoplastic diseases such as melanoma. In particular, the therapeutic implication resulting from the role of LPO products in the cytotoxicity induced by photodynamic therapy used for the adjuvant treatment of melanoma could be of interest in the future.