Sirtuins in Skin and Skin Cancers.

The sirtuins are a family of proteins that comprise class III of the histone deacetylases. These NAD+-dependent proteins have been found to be intricately involved in a variety of important and skin-relevant cellular functions and processes, including aging, UV damage response, oxidative stress, and wound repair. In addition, recent research is unraveling the role of sirtuins in a variety of skin diseases, including melanoma and nonmelanoma skin cancers. In this review, we provide a discussion on the potential roles and implications of different sirtuins in skin-specific cellular processes, which may have relevance to skin health and skin diseases. Based on the available literature, the sirtuins appear to be important targets in the management of a variety of skin diseases from cosmetic (e.g., skin aging) to fatal conditions (e.g., melanoma).

Non Lewis acid catalysed epoxide ring opening with amino acid esters.

The ring opening of epoxides by various amino acid esters is described in refluxing trifluoroethanol without any catalyst. Under these simple conditions the corresponding beta-amino alcohols are obtained in good to excellent yields in relatively short reaction times compared to previously reported methods.