Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 19, 2026

Generation of Genetically Modified Organotypic Skin Cultures Using Devitalized Human Dermis
Published on: December 14, 2015
Transformation linked decrease of pyruvate dehydrogenase complex in human epidermis
1Institute of General Pathology, Catholic University, Rome, Italy.
Abstract:
Epidermis exhibits glycolytic features peculiar to cancer cells. The activity of pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, both active (PDHa) and total (PDHt) forms, has been investigated and compared in epidermis and epidermal carcinomas from human source. Low or undetectable PDHa is found in either normal and neoplastic tissue. PDHt is unchanged in human epidermis between the second and seventh decades of life but is dramatically decreased following neoplastic transformation (0.107 and 0.026 units/g fresh tissue for epidermis and epidermal carcinoma, respectively). As PDH plays a key role in mitochondrial carbohydrate metabolism, the decrease of total enzymic capacity found in tumors suggest that different mechanisms regulate PDH expression and, in turn, glycolytic mechanisms of epidermis and cancer cells.
Related Concept Videos
Pyruvate Oxidation
First, the enzyme pyruvate dehydrogenase removes the carboxyl group from pyruvate and releases it as carbon dioxide. The stripped molecule is then oxidized and releases electrons, which are then picked up by NAD+...
Electron Transport Chain: Complex I and II
ROS generation is regulated and maintained at moderate levels necessary...
Nucleotide Excision Repair
Cells are regularly exposed to mutagens—factors in the environment that can damage DNA and generate mutations. UV radiation is one of the most common mutagens and is estimated to introduce a significant number of changes in DNA. These include bends or kinks in the structure, which can block DNA replication or transcription. If these errors are not fixed, the damage can cause mutations, which in turn can result in cancer or disease depending on which sequences are...
Renewal of Skin Epidermal Stem Cells
Cells of the Epidermis
The cells in all these layers except the stratum basale are called keratinocytes, a type of cell that manufactures and stores the protein keratin. The keratinocytes in the stratum corneum are dead and regularly slough away, being replaced by cells from...
Pigmentation
Melanin occurs in two primary forms: eumelanin that provides black and brown pigment and pheomelanin that provides red color. Dark-skinned individuals produce more melanin than those with pale...

