A Korean study has found that cultured human fibroblasts and adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) have similarly positive effects on the wrinkles of photoaged skin.
Study researchers, from the department of plastic and reconstructive surgery at Seoul (South Korea) National University College of Medicine, isolated and cultured fibroblasts and ADSCs from human tissue. They classified a total of 28 female mice into four groups: a normal control group and three groups that were irradiated six times a week for six weeks using ultraviolet B radiation to induce photoaged wrinkles. ADSCs were injected into the mice in the second group and fibroblasts into the mice in the third group. The fourth group was the irradiated negative control group.
After four weeks of injections, wrinkles were compared by replica analysis, biopsies performed and dermal thickness and collagen densities measured. The investigators used real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analysis to determine the amounts of type 1 collagen and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) 1, 2, 3, 9 and 13, and with immunohistochemistry assessed tropoelastin and fibrillin-1 expression in the dermis.
Researchers report that replica analysis showed significant wrinkle reduction in both groups. They found that ADSCs stimulated collagen expression and decreased MMP expression. Although fibroblasts stimulated more collagen expression than ADSCs, they also increased MMP expression. Overall, the ADSC group showed higher collagen density and had better outcomes in the tropoelastin and fibrillin-1 assessments.
“Both cultured fibroblasts and ADSCs could play an important role in wrinkle reduction despite differences in their mechanisms of action,” the researchers conclude.
The study appears in the March issue of the Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery (JPRAS).
