Ziegler C G, Krug A W, Zouboulis C C, Bornstein S R
Carl Gustav Carus University Hospital, Department of Medicine III, 01307 Dresden, Germany.
Horm Metab Res. 2007 Feb;39(2):106-9. doi: 10.1055/s-2007-961809.
The skin, as the largest organ of the body, is strategically located as a barrier between the external and internal environments, being permanently exposed to noxious stressors such as bursts of radiation (solar, thermal), mechanical energy, or chemical and biological insults. Because of its functional domains and structural diversity, the skin must have a constitutive mechanism for dealing with the stressors. Activities of the skin are mostly regulated by local cutaneous factors and stressed skin can generate signals to produce rapid (neural) or slow (humoral) responses to local or systemic levels. Thus, the skin neuroendocrine system is comprised of locally produced neuroendocrine mediators that interact with corresponding specific receptors through para- or autocrine mechanisms. Furthermore, it is known for several years that the corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH)/ pro-opiomelanocorticotropin (POMC) skin system fulfils analogous functions to the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) stress axis. Additionally, skin cells produce hormones, neurotansmitters and neuropeptides, having the corresponding receptors and the skin itself is able to fulfill a multidirectional communication between endocrine, immune and central nervous systems as well as other internal organs. In summary, the skin expresses an equivalent of the prominent hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal stress axis that may act as a cutaneous defense system, operating as a coordinator and executor of local responses to stress, in addition to its normal function: the preservation of body homeostasis.
皮肤作为人体最大的器官，处于外部和内部环境之间的关键屏障位置，长期暴露于有害应激源，如辐射（太阳辐射、热辐射）爆发、机械能，或化学和生物侵害。由于其功能域和结构多样性，皮肤必须具备应对这些应激源的固有机制。皮肤的活动大多受局部皮肤因素调节，应激状态下的皮肤能够产生信号，对局部或全身水平做出快速（神经）或缓慢（体液）反应。因此，皮肤神经内分泌系统由局部产生的神经内分泌介质组成，这些介质通过旁分泌或自分泌机制与相应的特定受体相互作用。此外，多年来已知促肾上腺皮质激素释放激素（CRH）/阿黑皮素原（POMC）皮肤系统具有与下丘脑 - 垂体 - 肾上腺（HPA）应激轴类似的功能。此外，皮肤细胞产生激素、神经递质和神经肽，拥有相应的受体，并且皮肤本身能够在内分泌、免疫和中枢神经系统以及其他内部器官之间实现多向通信。总之，皮肤表达了一种相当于突出的下丘脑 - 垂体 - 肾上腺应激轴的系统，该系统除了具有维持身体内环境稳定的正常功能外，还可作为皮肤防御系统，充当局部应激反应的协调者和执行者。
