Radiofrequency Irradiation Mitigated UV-B-Induced Skin Pigmentation by Increasing Lymphangiogenesis
Hyoung Moon Kim,
Seyeon Oh,
Kyung-A Byun,
Jin Young Yang,
Hye Jin Sun,
Donghwan Kang,
Kuk Hui Son,
Kyunghee Byun
Affiliations
Hyoung Moon Kim
Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology, College of Medicine, Gachon University, Incheon 21936, Korea
Seyeon Oh
Functional Cellular Networks Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Graduate School and Lee Gil Ya Cancer and Diabetes Institute, College of Medicine, Gachon University, Incheon 21999, Korea
Kyung-A Byun
Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology, College of Medicine, Gachon University, Incheon 21936, Korea
Jin Young Yang
Functional Cellular Networks Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Graduate School and Lee Gil Ya Cancer and Diabetes Institute, College of Medicine, Gachon University, Incheon 21999, Korea
Hye Jin Sun
Jeisys Medical Inc., Seoul 08501, Korea
Donghwan Kang
Jeisys Medical Inc., Seoul 08501, Korea
Kuk Hui Son
Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Gil Medical Center, Gachon University, Incheon 21565, Korea
Kyunghee Byun
Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology, College of Medicine, Gachon University, Incheon 21936, Korea
Dermal macrophages containing melanin increase skin pigmentation since dermal melanin removal is slower than epidermal melanin removal. Lymphatic vessels are also involved in melanin clearance. We evaluated whether radiofrequency (RF) irradiation induced an increase in HSP90, which promotes lymphangiogenesis by activating the BRAF/MEK/ERK pathway and decreasing tyrosinase activity, in the UV-B exposed animal model. The HSP90/BRAF/MEK/ERK pathway was upregulated by RF. Tyrosinase activity and the VEGF-C/VEGFR 3/PI3K/pAKT1/2/pERK1/2 pathway, which increase lymphangiogenesis, as well as the expression of the lymphatic endothelial marker LYVE-1, were increased by RF. Additionally, the number of melanin-containing dermal macrophages, the melanin content in the lymph nodes, and melanin deposition in the skin were decreased by RF. In conclusion, RF increased HSP90/BRAF/MEK/ERK expression, which decreased tyrosinase activity and increased lymphangiogenesis to eventually promote the clearance of dermal melanin-containing macrophages, thereby decreasing skin pigmentation.
