Beiersdorf research highlights new mechanism for skin protection

Beiersdorf has highlighted the success of a recent collaborative research project that identified an important skin protection mechanism.

Researchers from the company allied with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich over four years to study how skin cells use metabolism to protect themselves against ultraviolet-induced or oxidative stress.

They uncovered a previously unknown mechanism, known as the First-Line Response, that delivers key molecules to the cell that are needed for acute detoxification and repair.

To understand the mechanism and holistically analyse skin metabolism, the scientists used a new metabolomics technology that enables them to examine more than 800 metabolites simultaneously.

Beiersdorf researcher Dr Marc Winnefeld said: "With this dedicated and trustful open-innovation approach, Beiersdorf has always succeeded in working with excellent scientists from renowned institutes."

The study has now been published in the medical journal Molecular Cell, a highly respected cell biology publication.