Glossary
- Age spots:
Also known as sunspots or solar lentigines, are harmless, flat, brown discolorations of the skin which usually occur on the back of the hands, neck and face of people older than 40 years of age. They are caused by exposing the skin to the sun over many years and are a sign of sun damage.
- AHAs (alpha hydroxyl acids):
Chemical peelers that work by clearing off the top layers of dead skin cells by a process called exfoliation. Unlike retinoic acid, AHAs do not affect the skin at the cellular level.
- Allele:
One of various forms of a gene. For example in roses, one allele is for a yellow flower and one is for a white flower.
- Antioxidants:
Substances that work to deactivate free radicals formed by oxygen during normal cellular metabolism, solar UV or environmental toxins. They work by either binding to the free radicals thereby transforming them into non-damaging compounds (quenchers) or by stopping the chain reactions they initiate (chain breakers). Antioxidants come in a variety of forms and include Vitamin C, Vitamin E, the carotenoids, and selenium.
- Bicyclic monoterpene diol (BMTd):
A class of new compounds that increases the cell's production of nitric oxide. Nitric oxide is a key signaling molecule and is a vasodilator.
- Carnitine:
A naturally occurring amino acid that is part of the cell's machinery that produces energy for cells.
- Cell membrane:
A thin bilayer of lipids that envelops every cell. The membrane is selectively permeable which allows some molecules to cross but not others. The cell membrane thus controls what enters and exits the cell.
- Ceramide:
A lipid molecule that is a component of the cell membrane and the outer barrier of the skin. It becomes a signaling molecule when it is released from the cell membrane, and regulates functions in the cell.
- Collagen:
A protein packed into cables, which provides structure to our bodies, especially skin. About one quarter of the all the protein in the body is composed of collagen.
- DHA (dihydroacetone):
key ingredient in artificial tanners that turns an orange-brown color when bound to the upper layers of skin.
- Dimericine® (Die-MARE-eh-seen):
Also known as T4N5 Liposome Lotion. AGI Dermatics' lead compound is the first therapeutic DNA repair enzyme shown in clinical studies to reverse the effects of sun damage and prevent skin cancer. This drug encapsulates the DNA repair enzyme T4 endonuclease V in a liposome engineered to deliver the enzyme into cells of the skin.
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- DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid):
The molecule of the genes, shaped like a ladder that codes for the instructions for biological development and function.
- DNA repair enzymes:
Enzymes that recognize damage to DNA and participate in the process that restores the DNA to its native form. These functions include recognizing, cutting the DNA, directly reversing the damage, filling in the patches and sealing the breaks.
- Endonuclease:
An enzyme that cuts a single strand of DNA at a specific site. Some DNA repair enzymes are endonucleases.
- Ergothioneine:
Extraordinarily powerful antioxidant that serves to "cool down" the cells during peak energy production.
- Genes:
Segments of DNA that code for the production of proteins. These proteins control the features of an organism.
- Genetics:
The science of DNA, genes and heredity.
- Genome:
The whole hereditary information of an organism that is encoded in the DNA.
- Genotype:
The specific combination of genes of an individual.
- Growth factor:
A substance that affects the growth of a cell or an organism
- Human genomics:
The study of all human genes and their inter-relationships in order to understand their combined influence on the growth and development.
- Immune suppression:
Lowering the body's normal immune response to invasion by foreign substances, caused by drugs, disease or solar UV.
- IPF (immune protection factor):
A calculated factor similar to SPF (Sun Protection Factor). It is a measure of how well a sunscreen or sunblock protects against UV induced suppression of the immune system.
- Liposome:
Microscopic sphere whose walls are made of cell membranes. Liposomes may be used to deliver actives, drugs, enzymes, or other substances to the cell. The payload may be trapped in the center of the liposome or in the liposome membrane.
- Melanocytes:
Pigment-producing cells in the skin, hair and eyes that determine their color. The pigment is called melanin and comes in two colors:
eumelanin, which is black, and pheomelanin, which is red. The amount of these two melanins determines skin, hair and eye color. In the eye, the absence of melanin makes blue eyes.
- Microscars:
Repeated cycles of damage and repair to the skin structure, which are now regarded as the underlying cause of wrinkles.
- Mitochondria:
The cell organelle where much of cellular respiration takes place; the "power plant" of the cell. It contains many enzymes important for cellular metabolism.
- Molecular biology:
Field of biology that concerns itself with understanding the interactions among the molecules of life.
- Neurons:
The primary cells of the nervous system. They are found in the brain, the spinal cord and in the nerves and ganglia of the peripheral nervous system.
- Nitric oxide:
A gas molecule in the body that serves as a chemical messenger with a wide range of functions. It is an important signaling molecule in the body dilation (widening) of blood vessels, which increases blood supply.
- Nucleus:
The organelle, found in all eukaryotic cells, that contains most of the cell's genetic material. Nuclei have two main functions: to control chemical reactions within the cytoplasm and to store information needed for cellular division.
- Peptides:
Organic compound composed of amino acids linked together chemically by peptide bonds
- Phenotype:
A detectable characteristic of an organism. Hair and eye color are phenotypic traits.
- Photoaging:
The process by which skin is changed or damaged through exposure to ultraviolet radiation in sunlight or other sources. Photoaging effects on the skin include wrinkles, discoloration, or cancer.
- Photobiology:
The study of the effects of light, especially solar UV, on living organisms and biological processes.
- Phytoestrogens:
Plant compounds that can mimic the human hormone estrogen.
- Photolyases:
Enzymes that correct DNA damage by absorbing light and using the energy to reverse the damage.
- Pinanediol:
Biotechnology-inspired compound that stimulates the production of nitric oxide in cells, resulting in increased microcirculation.
- Polymorphism:
One or more variations (alleles) of a gene that may express different phenotypes such as hair color and height.
- Retinoic acid:
The active form of Vitamin A that regulates many cell activities.
- Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP):
A variation in a gene caused by the change of a single base in DNA.
- Solar UV:
Ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun reaching the Earth's surface composed largely of UVA (320-400 nm) with a small UVB (290-320 nm) component.
- Sunscreens:
These come in two forms. Chemical sunscreens (such as Parsol 1789) absorb solar UV and distribute it as heat; physical sunscreens (such as micronized zinc oxide and titanium dioxide) reflect the solar UV.
- SPF (sun-protection factor):
A number by which sunscreen users can determine the duration of effectiveness simply by multiplying the SPF by time it takes them to burn without sunscreen.
- T4N5 Liposome Lotion:
See Dimericine
- Ursolic acid:
A natural compound that occurs in many fruits, vegetables and herbs. Its anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties make it useful in cosmetic applications. AGI Dermatics has discovered that it also strengthens the skin barrier.
- Ultraviolet radiation:
See Solar UV
- Xeroderma Pigmentosum:
A rare genetic disease caused by inheriting one XP gene from each parent, which results in a deficiency in DNA repair, particularly repair of sun damage. Beginning in childhood, patients are extremely sensitive to sunlight -- some developing sunburn and blisters after very little exposure -- and they have an increased risk of all forms of skin cancer. Because patients scrupulously avoid unprotected sunlight, they are sometimes known as Children of the Night.
