Repeated folding stress-induced morphological changes in the dermal equivalent.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Repeated mechanical stresses applied to the same region of the skin are thought to induce morphological changes known as wrinkle. However, the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. To study the mechanisms, we examined effects of repeated mechanical stress on the dermal equivalent. METHODS: We developed a novel device to apply repeated folding stress to the dermal equivalent. After applying the mechanical stress, morphological changes of the dermal equivalent and expression of several genes related to extracellular matrix turn over and cell contraction were examined. RESULTS: The repeated folding stress induced a noticeable decrease in the width of the dermal equivalent. The mechanical stress altered orientations of collagen fibrils. Hydroxyproline contents, dry weights and cell viability of the dermal equivalents were not affected by the mechanical stress. On the other hand, Rho-associated coiled-coil-containing kinase (ROCK) specific inhibitor Y27632 completely suppressed the decrease in the width of the dermal equivalent. CONCLUSION: The present results revealed that either degradation of collagen or changes in the number of cells were not responsible for the decrease in the width of the dermal equivalent and indicate that the repeated mechanical stress induces unidirectional contraction in the dermal equivalent through the RhoA-ROCK signaling pathway.

Functional characteristics of the skin surface of children approaching puberty: age and seasonal influences.

The aim of this study was to determine differences in the functional properties of the stratum corneum of children and adults, focusing on the influence of approaching puberty. Biophysical measurements were made of the stratum corneum of 32 healthy Japanese children aged 10-14 years and their mothers in summer and the following winter. The children showed significantly lower skin surface hydration. Stratum corneum barrier function, evaluated in terms of trans-epidermal water loss, was poorer on the forearm in the children than in the adults regardless of season. By contrast, the stratum corneum barrier of the cheek, which was better in the children, tended to become poorer when the children reached puberty. Although the immaturity of the cornified envelopes of the superficial corneocytes, which ratio increased significantly in winter, was not different from that of adults, the corneocytes were significantly smaller in the children, suggesting a more rapid turnover of the stratum corneum. The amount of skin surface lipid, which was measured only on the cheek, remained low until 13 years of age, but at 14 years of age it increased remarkably, approaching adult levels. We conclude that, until puberty, most functional characteristics of the skin of children remain distinct from those of adults.

Quantitative analysis of the synthesis and secretion of type VII collagen in cultured human dermal fibroblasts with a sensitive sandwich enzyme-linked immunoassay.

Type VII collagen is the major component of anchoring fibrils in the epidermal basement membrane. Its expression has been analyzed by immunostaining or Northern blotting, but rarely at the protein level. In this study, we have quantitatively examined the effects of ascorbic acid and various cytokines/growth factors on the protein synthesis and secretion of type VII collagen by human dermal fibroblasts in culture, using a developed, highly sensitive sandwich enzyme-linked immunoassay with two kinds of specific monoclonal antibodies against the non-collagenous domain-1. Ascorbic acid and its derivative induced a twofold increase in type VII collagen synthesis, and markedly increased the secretion of type VII collagen into the medium when compared with the control culture. This effect was not influenced by the presence of transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1). The synthesis of type VII collagen was elevated by TGF-beta1, platelet-derived growth factor, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and interleukin-1beta, but not by TGF-alpha. Thus, our data indicate that the synthesis and secretion of type VII collagen in human dermal fibroblasts are regulated by ascorbate and the enhancement of type VII collagen gene expression by cytokines/growth factors is accompanied with elevated production of type VII collagen at the protein level.

Quantitative analysis of laminin 5 gene expression in human keratinocytes.

To examine the expression of laminin 5 genes (LAMA3, LAMB3, and LAMC2) encoding the three polypeptide chains alpha3, beta3, and gamma2, respectively, in human keratinocytes, we developed novel quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods utilizing Thermus aquaticus DNA polymerase, specific primers, and fluorescein-labeled probes with the ABI PRISM 7700 sequence detector system. Gene expression levels of LAMA3, LAMB3, and LAMC2 and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase were quantitated reproducibly and sensitively in the range from 1 x 10(2) to 1 x 10(8) gene copies. Basal gene expression level of LAMB3 was about one-tenth of that of LAMA3 or LAMC2 in human keratinocytes, although there was no clear difference among immunoprecipitated protein levels of alpha3, beta3, and gamma2 synthesized in radio-labeled keratinocytes. Human serum augmented gene expressions of LAMA3, LAMB3, and LAMC2 in human keratinocytes to almost the same extent, and this was associated with an increase of the laminin 5 protein content measured by a specific sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. These results demonstrate that the absolute mRNA levels generated from the laminin 5 genes do not determine the translated protein levels of the laminin 5 chains in keratinocytes, and indicate that the expression of the laminin 5 genes may be controlled by common regulation mechanisms.