Transcriptomic changes in fibroblasts in the course of photoaging

Skin, similar to most other organs, undergoes detremental changes during life time (intrinsic or chronological aging). Unique for skin, however, is its direct environmental exposure, particularly UV irradiation from the sun, that causes a superimposed aging phenotype referred to as photoaging. Importantly, skin aging is more than a physiologic phenomenon but also a health risk, as it comprises deficiencies such as skin fragility, delayed and impaired wound healing, and increasing susceptibility for infections and skin cancer. We here aimed at studying skin aging in the course of photoaging of primary fibroblasts isolated from the dermis. To that end, generated skin equivalents (SEs) were exposed to chronic irradiation, with 1MED (minimal erythemic dose) of solar UV radiation (simultaneous irradiation of UVA + UVB) 3x per week for 2 weeks.

皮肤与多数其他器官类似，在生命周期中会发生退行性改变（即内源性衰老，或称自然衰老）。但皮肤具有独特性：其直接暴露于外界环境，尤其易受日光紫外线照射影响，进而诱发叠加性衰老表型，即光老化。值得注意的是，皮肤衰老并非单纯的生理现象，更是一类健康风险，可引发皮肤脆性增加、伤口愈合延迟且修复受损、感染易感性升高以及皮肤癌发病风险增加等多种缺陷。本研究旨在探究从真皮层分离的原代成纤维细胞（primary fibroblasts）在光老化进程中的皮肤衰老状态。为此，我们将构建的皮肤等效物（skin equivalents，SEs）暴露于慢性紫外线辐射环境：采用同时覆盖UVA与UVB的日光紫外线辐射（solar UV radiation）的1倍最小红斑量（minimal erythemic dose，MED），每周照射3次，持续2周。