Skin plays an essential role as a protective barrier against irradiation of ultraviolet (UV), pollution, and other harmful factors that induce oxidative stress. Skin consists of various cells including keratinocytes, melanocytes, and fibroblasts, and immune cells including T cells, neutrophils, and macrophages. Oxidative stress alters signalling pathways in these cell types, contributing to skin aging and diverse skin diseases, including skin cancers. Thus, the antioxidant defence system is important for the skin to maintain its integrity and homeostasis.

Potential defence mechanisms against oxidative stress range from transcription factors and enzymes, to natural products and organic compounds. Some transcription factors elevate the intracellular defence system by upregulating antioxidative enzymes including catalase, manganese superoxide dismutase, and manganese superoxide dismutase, which are important and indispensable in the entire defence strategy of antioxidants. Additionally, many natural products and organic compounds have been shown to protect against skin damage through direct or indirect scavenging of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species.

This Special Issue aims to discuss the roles of antioxidant defence factors in skin health-related phenotypes and signalling pathways in skin cells or animal models. We invite authors to submit original research articles or literature reviews that focus on antioxidant defence factors including transcription factors, enzymes, natural products, and organic compounds to regulate skin health.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Characterizing genetic and epigenetic mechanisms controlling oxidative stress and antioxidant responses to regulate skin health
• Finding natural extracts or compounds that control skin health and diseases including skin aging, atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, lupus, leishmaniasis, etc
• Synthetic compounds that affect skin aging
• Environmental factors including micro dust and pollutants that are harmful for skin health
• Clinical aspects of natural products or compounds to target skin health