International Journal of Molecular Sciences (Apr 2020)

Synthetic Retinoid Seletinoid G Improves Skin Barrier Function through Wound Healing and Collagen Realignment in Human Skin Equivalents

  • Eun-Soo Lee,
  • Yujin Ahn,
  • Il-Hong Bae,
  • Daejin Min,
  • Nok Hyun Park,
  • Woonggyu Jung,
  • Se-Hwa Kim,
  • Yong Deog Hong,
  • Won Seok Park,
  • Chang Seok Lee

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21093198
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 21, no. 9
p. 3198

Abstract

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The outer epidermal skin is a primary barrier that protects the body from extrinsic factors, such as ultraviolet (UV) radiation, chemicals and pollutants. The complete epithelialization of a wound by keratinocytes is essential for restoring the barrier function of the skin. However, age-related alterations predispose the elderly to impaired wound healing. Therefore, wound-healing efficacy could be also considered as a potent function of an anti-aging reagent. Here, we examine the epidermal wound-healing efficacy of the fourth-generation retinoid, seletinoid G, using HaCaT keratinocytes and skin tissues. We found that seletinoid G promoted the proliferation and migration of keratinocytes in scratch assays and time-lapse imaging. It also increased the gene expression levels of several keratinocyte proliferation-regulating factors. In human skin equivalents, seletinoid G accelerated epidermal wound closure, as assessed using optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging. Moreover, second harmonic generation (SHG) imaging revealed that seletinoid G recovered the reduced dermal collagen deposition seen in ultraviolet B (UVB)-irradiated human skin equivalents. Taken together, these results indicate that seletinoid G protects the skin barrier by accelerating wound healing in the epidermis and by repairing collagen deficiency in the dermis. Thus, seletinoid G could be a potent anti-aging agent for protecting the skin barrier.

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