Skin Pigmentation: Rethinking Drug Efficacy
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by Kerri Miller
October 11, 2024
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3 min
5 Key Takeaways
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1
Melanin-based skin pigmentation significantly influences drug pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics.
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2
Darker skin tones can contain up to 10 times more melanosomes compared with lighter skin tones, potentially affecting drug distribution and efficacy.
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3
Eumelanin plays a significant role in drug interactions due to its polyionic nature.
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4
Advanced in vitro three-dimensional skin cell models are crucial for accurate representation of variation in human skin pigmentation.
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5
The study suggests a more inclusive approach to drug development to consider the diversity of human skin pigmentation.
The study explores how differences in melanin-based skin pigmentation can significantly impact drug pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, potentially affecting therapeutic efficacy and adverse drug reactions among various human ancestries. Darker skin tones can contain significantly more melanosomes, influencing drug distribution and efficacy, with eumelanin playing a pivotal role in drug interactions. The research proposes a four-pillar workflow to predict melanin-based differential drug responses, emphasizing the importance of advanced in vitro three-dimensional skin cell models and the need for comprehensive metadata for cell models used in preclinical research. The findings could have broad impacts on pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, cleaning products, and agriculture, calling for a more inclusive approach to drug development to consider the diversity of human skin pigmentation.
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