Biomedical Dermatology

This study examines the cellular protective effects of scutellarin on HaCaT cells in which oxidative stress was induced by ultraviolet A (UVA). Cell viability and lipid peroxidation were measured using WST-1 and MDA assays, respectively. The changes in cell number in the sub-G1 phase were assessed using cell cycle analysis, and tailed DNA levels were measured using the comet assay to examine the degree of DNA damage. The difference in the mitochondrial membrane potential was examined using JC-1 staining, and the regulation of BAX mRNA expression levels was examined using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Although UVA-irradiated cells resulted in a 3.63-fold increase in lipid peroxide, scutellarin-treated cells showed concentration-dependent decreases of 2.06, 1.39, and 0.97 times at scutellarin concentrations of 1, 5, and 10 μM, respectively. The cell number in the sub-G1 phase increased by 227% when irradiated by UVA but decreased to 187, 139, and 120% when cells were treated with scutellarin at concentrations of 1, 5, and 10 μM, respectively. Tailed DNA also showed a protective effect. The mitochondrial membrane potential difference decreased up to 36% when irradiated by UVA but recovered up to 58, 82, and 92% when cells were treated with scutellarin at concentrations of 1, 5, and 10 μM, respectively. BAX gene expression levels increased 9.7-fold by UVA but was downregulated to 7.4-, 4.71-, and 2.49-fold when cells were treated with scutellarin at concentrations of 1, 5, and 10 μM, respectively. This study revealed the cellular protective effects of scutellarin on HaCaT cells. Further studies are warranted to determine the use of scutellarin as a cosmeceutical ingredient.

Syringic acid is a phenolic compound that can be produced through selective hydrolysis of eudesmic acid containing 20% sulfuric acid. The acid is obtained by breaking down components, such as anthocyanin and lignin acid, present in the oils of acai berries and other fruits. Recently, the anti-inflammatory, selective toxicity, anticancer, and antioxidant effects of syringic acid have been studied, but few studies on the effects of syringic acid on human keratinocytes (HaCaT) cells have been published. The present study investigated the antioxidant effects of syringic acid, as a potential cosmetic ingredient, on matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) expression alteration and MMP production control through the activator protein-1 (AP-1) mechanism in HaCaT cells exposed to ultraviolet B radiation. A reactive oxygen species (ROS)-scavenging assay using a luciferase reporter that utilizes the AP-1 response element, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) were used. To confirm if ROS in HaCaT cells damaged by ultraviolet B are eliminated by syringic acid, 2′-7′-dichlorofluorescein diacetate was used to measure the ROS quantity. qRT-PCR analysis was used to measure the expressions of SOD1 mRNA, GPx1 mRNA, and catalase (CAT) mRNA, which are related to oxidation inhibition. To measure the anti-aging effects of syringic acid, qRT-PCR was used to measure the expression levels of MMP mRNA, c-Jun, and c-Fos. ROS were eliminated by syringic acid, and cell aging due to ultraviolet B was suppressed. Results of qRT-PCR analysis confirmed that syringic acid suppressed oxidation in HaCaT cells damaged by ultraviolet B. Further, syringic acid was found to suppress the expression of MMP mRNA, c-Jun, and c-Fos in a concentration-dependent manner. ELISA showed that MMP-1 production decreased in a concentration-dependent manner. The luciferase reporter analysis revealed a concentration-dependent decrease in the transcriptional activity of AP-1 promoter caused by syringic acid. Syringic acid was shown to be involved in altering MMP expression and controlling MMP-1 production through the AP-1 mechanism. Thus, the antioxidant and anti-aging effects of syringic acid increased the survival rate of HaCaT cells damaged by ultraviolet B, suggesting that it can be used as a natural phytochemical in cosmetic products.

Sunlight is one of the main harmful exogenous factors that induce the reactive oxygen species formation. The human skin is the first line of photoprotection against harmful exogenous factors, such as UV radiations. The topical application of sunscreens, containing UV-B filters, is widely used to protect against UV-induced damage. Octylmethoxycinnamate is the world’s most widely used UV-B filter in sunscreens. However, recent studies have demonstrated that this substance is an endocrine disruptor compound and with potential to damage DNA. Thus, the safety of this organic filter is a current concern for human health, and it was urgent to develop new photoprotective strategies. In this sense, due to the potential to neutralize the UV-induced free radicals, the use of antioxidants as UV filter stabilizers presented as a novel promising strategy. The purpose of this review was to assess the use of antioxidants as stabilizers for UV-B filter octylmethoxycinnamate. For this, we discuss the chemical and physical characteristics of UV-B filter octylmethoxycinnamate, emphasizing the stability, photostability, and reactivity of this UV filter. The use of antioxidants in sunscreens will also be addressed, from a perspective of the main characteristics that allowed their use in sunscreen formulations. Then, the concomitant use of both was described from a historical and physical chemical perspective, always emphasizing the advantages and disadvantages of this association. The combination of antioxidants with UV-B filter octylmethoxycinnamate in appropriated formulations represents a viable strategy to protect the human skin against UV-induced damage.

Hand washing with soap and water is a good hand hygiene practice which reduces the chance of infection transmission through hand contact. This study was designed to determine the microbial hand carriage among nursery and primary school children in Calabar Metropolis and to assess the effect of hand washing in the reduction of bacterial hand carriage among these children. A total of 150 pupils aged 2–13 years were enrolled in the study from both private and public nursery and primary schools. Ethical approval was obtained from the Cross River State Ministry of Health, before the collection of the samples. Informed consent was obtained from the management of the schools and the parents and guardian of the children. A structured questionnaire was administered to the pupils for information on demography, hand hygiene practice, and their awareness on the importance of hand washing. Hand swabs were obtained from the pupils before and after hand washing respectively. Samples were subjected to culture, microscopy, and biochemical analysis. Data obtained in the study were analyzed by Epi-Info CDC, 2012 package. Males had the highest occurrence of the isolates 82 (62.1%) than females 50 (37.8%). This study recorded 88.0% prevalence of bacterial hand carriage among school children. Staphylococcus aureus was the most common isolate (68.9%) recovered before hand washing followed by Escherichia coli (25.0%). Proteus vulgaris and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were not found on the pupils’ hands after hand washing. There was a significant difference in the bacterial carriage after hand washing between the two soap types (χ2 = 19.9, p = 0.001) with Dettol soap subjects having a lower bacterial carriage (31.2%) than Tetmosol soap subjects (68.8%). The isolated bacteria were potential pathogens in humans. There was a significant reduction in bacterial carriage after hand washing with antibacterial soaps. School children should be educated on the need to wash hands with clean water and soap and dry with clean towels as this will reduce the risk of transmission of pathogenic bacteria orally or into open wounds.

Hyaluronic acid (HA) filler is the most commonly used filler for soft tissue augmentation. There are numerous commercially available HA fillers in the cosmetic market, and there are guidelines for each filler as determined by the manufacturing company. The successful use of injectable fillers requires an understanding of each option available so that the most appropriate form of hyaluronic acid may be selected for patients. The purpose of this study was to determine whether newly developed HA fillers are appropriate for forehead augmentation considering their rheological properties and the anatomical site of injection. The rheological properties of new HA fillers were assessed e.t.p.q. S100, S300, S500 (Zetema®). Comparing the rheological properties, the authors chose e.t.p.q. S300® for forehead augmentation. The filler was injected into the foreheads of 40 consecutive patients for esthetic purposes. e.t.p.q. S300® was determined to be an appropriate filler for the forehead. The injection procedure employed was considered to be easy and safe when applied to the preperiosteal layer using a cannula. None of the patients had complications such as vascular compromise, infections, granulomas, or migration. Understanding the physical properties of new fillers is necessary. As the preperiosteal layer of the forehead is an appropriate layer for the filler injection, physicians should consider injecting fillers with enough strength to withstand the shearing forces.

There is a significant variation in the reported prevalence of hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), ranging from 0.03–4%. We hypothesized that this significant variation may be due to different prevalence rates of HS according to geographical location as well as sex. We aimed to perform a meta-analysis to determine pooled overall prevalence of HS, prevalence stratified according to geographical region and sex. A systematic review was performed by searching Ovid Medline, PubMed, Cochrane Library, DARE, and Embase, from inception to August 2018. A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed according to PRISMA guidelines. A meta-analysis of proportions was performed to determined pooled prevalence rates, with meta-regression based on geographic region. Prevalence in males versus females was also performed according to region. The overall pooled prevalence rate was 0.3% (0.2–0.6%) based on 118,760,093 HS cases available. Subgroup analysis demonstrated prevalence differences, with the highest being in Europe 0.8% (0.5–1.3%), compared to the USA 0.2% (0.1–0.4%), Asia-Pacific 0.2% (0.01–2.2%), and South America 0.2% (0.01–0.9%). Prevalence in males was lower compared to females in the USA (OR 0.403, 95% CI 0.37–0.439, P < 0.001) as well as in Europe (OR 0.635, 95% CI 0.397–1.015, P = 0.08) but not in the Asia-Pacific region (OR 0.936, 95% CI 0.319–2.751, P = 0.78). Prevalence of HS varies significantly according to the geographical population. This variation is likely attributed to different ethnicity distributions amongst different continents. III

This study aims to investigate the ability of naringenin to regulate the expression of nuclear factor-кB, the upper gene of lipopolysaccharide-induced SIRT1; regulate signal transduction in the extracellular matrix, which plays an important role in the dermis; and alter the matrix metalloproteinase 1 and matrix metalloproteinase 3 gene expression, therefore having suppressing effect on skin cell senescence and deoxyribonucleic acid protection and cell protection effects and confirm naringenin’s potential as an important cosmetic ingredient. The efficacy of naringenin was assessed through reactive oxygen species assay, water-soluble tetrazolium salt assay, nuclear factor-кB luciferase assay, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase activity assay, and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Sirt1, which regulates naringenin upstream of the nuclear factor-кB pathway, inhibits nuclear factor-кB activity and decreases matrix metalloproteinase expression level and SIRT1 gene dose-dependently. The results confirmed naringenin had an anti-aging effect on lipopolysaccharide-induced skin senescence. Various age-related biomarkers were used to analyze the inhibitory effect naringenin had on cell senescence progress and oxidative activity. Further experiments also showed naringenin also acted on NADPH oxidase, which produces superoxide (O2-), resulting in inhibiting NADPH oxidase activity. Experimental results reported that naringenin regulated the activity of SIRT1, which is the cause of modern skin cell aging, and in turn had a regenerative effect on reactive oxygen species-induced skin cellular senescence which affects skin elasticity and wrinkles. This study confirmed that naringenin inhibits cellular senescence and regenerates human dermal fibroblasts damaged by lipopolysaccharide, and suggests that naringenin will be a cosmetic ingredient that has cell regenerative effects and anti-aging effects.