Cell-communi­cating ingre­dients

For all parts of our bodies to work properly, including skin cells, each cell must know how to perform the correct action at the correct time—and, hopefully, to ignore the information (in the form of messenger substances) that tells cells to do the wrong thing. This takes place through constant communication, with many substances telling cells how and when to function properly, and the cells then relaying that information to each other.

When cells have a miscommunication, or when substances relaying bad information get through to the cell, all sorts of problems can take place. Every cell has a vast series of receptor sites for different substances. These receptor sites are the cell’s communication hookup. When the right ingredient for a specific site shows up, it has the ability to attach itself to the cell and transmit information. In the case of skin, this means telling the cell to start doing the things a healthy skin cell should be doing. If the cell accepts the message, the cell can then share the same healthy message with other nearby cells and so on and so on.

Theoretically, this horizon in skin care is incredibly exciting. For now, the skin-care ingredients to look for in terms of cell-communicating ability include retinol, retinaldehyde, retinoic acid, epigallocatechin-3-gallate, eicosapentaenoic acid, niacinamide, lecithin, linolenic acid, linoleic acid, phospholipids, carnitine, carnosine, triphosphate, cyclic phosphate, most peptides, and Pyrus malus (apple) fruit extract.

Sources: Journal of Biological Chemistry, August 2007, pages 22964, 22976; Seminars in Immunopathology, April 2007, pages 15–26; Journal of Investigative Dermatology, December 2006, pages 2697–2706; Microscopy Research and Technique, January 2003, pages 107–114; Nature Medicine, February 2003, pages 225–229; Journal of Investigative Dermatology, March 2002, pages 402–408; International Journal of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, July 2004, pages 1141–1146; Experimental Cell Research, March 2002, pages 130–137; Skin Pharmacology and Applied Skin Physiology, September–October 2002, pages 316–320; and www.signaling-gateway.org.

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