Human skin cell research has made new breakthroughs, which provide new methods and approaches for anti-aging medical treatment.
Scientists at Newcastle University in the United Kingdom discovered for the first time that there is a key metabolic enzyme in human skin cells, and the activity of this enzyme decreases with age.
The results of this study were published in the online edition of the Journal of Dermatology Research. The study found that the activity of mitochondrial complex II in elderly skin was significantly reduced.
This discovery brings scientists one step closer to the development of effective anti-aging medical and cosmetic products. These medical methods and cosmetic products may play a role in inhibiting the decline in the activity of metabolic enzymes.
The research results will also give us a better understanding of the age of other organs in the body, which will pave the way for the development of drugs for age-related diseases, including cancer.
Mark Birch-Machin, Professor of Molecular Dermatology at Newcastle University, led this groundbreaking research together with Dr. Amy Bowman of the research team.
Professor Birch-Machin said: “When our body ages, we will find that the energy in the cells is gradually depleted. This phenomenon is called a decrease in bioenergy and an increase in harmful free radicals.
"This process is easy to see on our skin. When fine lines and wrinkles increase and skin sagging occurs. You must know this, at least when you look in the mirror in the morning."
"Our research found for the first time that with age, the activity of key metabolic enzymes in human skin declines, and this enzyme exists in the energy of skin cells."
"This enzyme is the link between two important pathways for energy production in our cells, and its reduced activity will lead to a decline in bioenergy in aging skin."
"Our research shows that we now have a specific biomarker, or a target, that can be used to develop and screen anti-aging medicine and cosmetics, which can reverse this decline in bioenergy."
"Our research makes it possible to develop anti-aging medicine (which can target different ages and different colors of skin), and another possible application is to solve the aging process in other parts of our body."
This study measured the complex II activity of 27 volunteers aged 6-72. The samples were taken from parts of the skin that were not damaged by the sun to determine whether there was a difference in the activity of complex II with age.
Some techniques are used to measure the activity of key enzymes in mitochondria, which are the energy-producing structures in cells. This is applicable to cells from the upper layer (epidermis) and lower layer (dermis) levels of the skin.
Scientists found that with age, the activity of complex II decreased significantly, and each unit of mitochondria in the cell came from lower rather than upper level skin cells. This result has never been reported in previous studies on human skin cells. .
Scientists have discovered that the significant decrease in the activity of complex II is caused by the decrease in the number of enzyme proteins, and this decrease only occurs in those aging cells.
Further research is needed to fully understand the functional effects of skin and other tissues, and establish methods to evaluate anti-aging strategies for human skin.
Dr. Bowman, a researcher at the Institute of Cell Medicine, Newcastle University, said: "Newcastle University has made groundbreaking research on aging. It has long been believed that mitochondria play an important role in the aging process, but its exact role is still unclear. And our work has given us a deeper understanding of how the structure of these important cells leads to human aging. We hope that we can finally successfully locate it to resist the signs of aging."
A recent study conducted a mouse experiment, and the results showed that the complex II activity in the skin of naturally aging mice is lower than that in young mice.