A crosslinked hydrogel based on recombinant human elastin for rapid repair of photodamaged skin

Abstract

<p indent="0mm">Photodamage is the most common skin disease, affecting more than a third of the global population each year. Elastin in dermis plays a critical role in maintaining skin shape, and its destruction is a prominent feature in skin photodamage. Currently, elastin is mostly derived from animal tissue, which has drawbacks such as virus transmission and easy degradation. We constructed a novel Recombinant Human Elastin (RHE) and its cross-linked hydrogel to rapidly repair photodamaged skin. RHE, composed of human elastin domains, preserves a similar secondary structure and reversible phase transition properties as native. RHE was cross-linked by THPC to form hydrogels with remarkable mechanical strength. Scanning electron microscopy results showed that the RHE hydrogel has a uniformly distributed mesh structure. Cell experiments indicated that the hydrogel had no cytotoxicity and significantly promoted the proliferation of fibroblasts. Animal experiments showed that the hydrogel significantly accelerated the healing of UV-irradiated skin in mice, reducing the inflammatory response and inhibiting abnormal epidermal hyperplasia. The highly biocompatible and bioactive RHE and its cross-linked hydrogel provides an efficient treatment for photodamaged skin, which may have promising applications in dermatology and tissue engineering.