Abstract
The skin is constantly exposed to environmental oxidative stress. Skin equivalent (SE) models are three-dimensional systems in which cell-cell or cell-matrix interactions can be investigated. In this study, the effects of vitamin C or plant extracts with high antioxidant activities were tested. There was no significant difference in the epidermal thickness, but the basal cells became cuboidal when vitamin C or plant extracts were supplemented. Furthermore, immunohistochemical staining showed linear and intense staining of α6 and β1 integrin along the basement membrane in vitamin C or plant extract treated models. The p63 and PCNA were also stained. Results showed that the number of p63 and PCNA positive cells was higher in the vitamin C or plant extract treated models than in the control SEs. Although the relationship between oxidative stress and stem cells is not known, our results suggest that redox status affects the stemness and the proliferative potential of epidermal basal cells by modulating microenvironment to epidermal basal stem cells.
Highlights
Most in vitro studies have been done in two-dimensional monocultures, while accumulating evidences suggest that cells behave differently when they were grown within a threedimensional (3D) extracellular matrix and interact with other cells [1]
The results showed that extracts from G. lucidum and R. sachalinensis were not toxic at any of the concentrations tested
The thickness of the epidermis was similar in all of the models tested in this study, the basal layer appeared to be more compact in the models that were treated with vitamin C or plant extracts (Figure 3)
Summary
Most in vitro studies have been done in two-dimensional monocultures, while accumulating evidences suggest that cells behave differently when they were grown within a threedimensional (3D) extracellular matrix and interact with other cells [1]. SE models can be used for an efficacy testing to prove antiageing activity [3] or hypopigmenting effects [4]. It is reported that epidermal side population with stem cell-like characteristics exhibited less mitochondrial area, fewer peroxisomes, and produced lower levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) than more differentiated keratinocytes [8]. These findings suggest that redox status may be an important regulator of epidermalization. The effects of vitamin C and plants extracts from G. lucidum and R. sachalinensis were studied in 3D SE models in terms of basement membrane formation and stem cell markers
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