Claire Marionnet

Different oxidative stress response in keratinocytes and fibroblasts of reconstructed skin exposed to non extreme daily-ultraviolet radiation.

Experiments characterizing the biological effects of sun exposure have usually involved solar simulators. However, they addressed the worst case scenario i.e. zenithal sun, rarely found in common outdoor activities. A non-extreme ultraviolet radiation (UV) spectrum referred as “daily UV radiation” (DUVR) with a higher UVA (320–400 nm) to UVB (280–320 nm) irradiance ratio has therefore been defined. In this study, the biological impact of an acute exposure to low physiological doses of DUVR (corresponding to 10 and 20% of the dose received per day in Paris mid-April) on a 3 dimensional reconstructed skin model, was analysed. In such conditions, epidermal and dermal morphological alterations could only be detected after the highest dose of DUVR. We then focused on oxidative stress response induced by DUVR, by analyzing the modulation of mRNA level of 24 markers in parallel in fibroblasts and keratinocytes. DUVR significantly modulated mRNA levels of these markers in both cell types. A cell type differential response was noticed: it was faster in fibroblasts, with a majority of inductions and high levels of modulation in contrast to keratinocyte response. Our results thus revealed a higher sensitivity in response to oxidative stress of dermal fibroblasts although located deeper in the skin, giving new insights into the skin biological events occurring in everyday UV exposure.

New insights in photoaging, UVA induced damage and skin types

UVA radiation is the most prevalent component of solar UV radiation; it deeply penetrates into the skin and induces profound alterations of the dermal connective tissue. In recent years, the detrimental effects of UVA radiation were more precisely demonstrated at cellular and molecular levels, using adequate methods to identify biological targets of UVA radiation and the resulting cascade impairment of cell functions and tissue degradation. In particular gene expression studies recently revealed that UVA radiation induces modulation of several genes confirming the high sensitivity of dermal fibroblasts to UVA radiation. The major visible damaging effects of UVA radiation only appear after years of exposure: it has been clearly evidenced that they are responsible for more or less early signs of photoageing and photocarcinogenesis. UVA radiation appears to play a key role in pigmented changes occurring with age, the major sign of skin photoaging in Asians. Skin susceptibility to photoaging alterations also depends on constitutive pigmentation. The skin sensitivity to UV light has been demonstrated to be linked to skin color type.

Differential molecular profiling between skin carcinomas reveals four newly reported genes potentially implicated in squamous cell carcinoma development.

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) are skin tumors with different invasive potential. In this work, we analysed mRNA differential expression between seven BCC and five SCC and their normal skin counterparts using 1176 cDNA macroarrays and verification by RT–PCR to identify genes modulated in each tumor type. We identified 37 genes commonly modulated in both tumors and four genes specifically modulated in SCC. Among these latter RhoC and EMMPRIN genes seem to be of particular interest and could participate in SCC aggressivity.

A broad‐spectrum sunscreen prevents UVA radiation‐induced gene expression in reconstructed skin in vitro and in human skin in vivo

Abstract:  The efficacy of sunscreens to protect against ultraviolet (UV) A radiation is usually assessed by measuring erythema formation and pigmentation. The biological relevance of these endpoints for UVA‐induced skin damage, however, is not known. We therefore carried out two complementary studies to determine UVA protection provided by a broad‐spectrum sunscreen product at a molecular level by studying UVA radiation‐induced gene expression. One study was performed on human reconstructed skin in vitro with a semi‐global gene expression analysis of 227 genes in fibroblasts and 244 in keratinocytes. The second one was conducted in vivo in human volunteers and focused on genes involved in oxidative stress response and photo‐ageing (haeme oxygenase‐1, superoxide dismutase‐2, glutathione peroxidase, catalase, matrix metalloproteinase‐1). In‐vitro UVA radiation induced modulation of genes involved in extracellular matrix homeostasis, oxidative stress, heat shock responses, cell growth, inflammation and epidermal differentiation. Sunscreen pre‐application abrogated or significantly reduced these effects, as underlined by unsupervised clustering analysis. The in vivo study confirmed that the sunscreen prevented UVA radiation–induced transcriptional expression of the five studied genes. These findings indicate the high efficacy of a broad‐spectrum sunscreen in protecting human skin against UVA‐induced gene responses and suggest that this approach is a biologically relevant complement to existing methods.

Morphogenesis of dermal–epidermal junction in a model of reconstructed skin: beneficial effects of vitamin C

Abstract:  In skin, cohesion between the dermis and the epidermis is ensured by the dermal–epidermal junction which is also required for control of epidermal growth and differentiation. Here we showed that addition of vitamin C optimized the formation of the dermal–epidermal junction in an in vitro human reconstructed skin model leading to a structure closer to that of normal human skin. Compared with controls, vitamin C treatment led to a better organization of basal keratinocytes, an increase in fibroblast number and a faster formation of the dermal–epidermal junction. Vitamin C also accelerated deposition of several basement membrane proteins, like type IV and VII collagens, nidogen, laminin 10/11, procollagens I and III, tenascin C and fibrillin‐1 at the dermal–epidermal junction. The mechanism of action of vitamin C was investigated by quantitative polymerase chain reaction in fibroblasts and keratinocytes respectively. Vitamin C effects passed in part through an increase in col I alpha1, col III alpha1 and fibrillin‐1 mRNA levels. Effects on the other markers appeared to happen at the translational and/or post‐translational level, as illustrated for tenascin C, col IV alpha2 and col VII alpha1 mRNA levels which were reduced by vitamin C in both cell types.

Exposure to Non-Extreme Solar UV Daylight: Spectral Characterization, Effects on Skin and Photoprotection

The link between chronic sun exposure of human skin and harmful clinical consequences such as photo-aging and skin cancers is now indisputable. These effects are mostly due to ultraviolet (UV) rays (UVA, 320–400 nm and UVB, 280–320 nm). The UVA/UVB ratio can vary with latitude, season, hour, meteorology and ozone layer, leading to different exposure conditions. Zenithal sun exposure (for example on a beach around noon under a clear sky) can rapidly induce visible and well-characterized clinical consequences such as sunburn, predominantly induced by UVB. However, a limited part of the global population is exposed daily to such intense irradiance and until recently little attention has been paid to solar exposure that does not induce any short term clinical impact. This paper will review different studies on non-extreme daily UV exposures with: (1) the characterization and the definition of the standard UV daylight and its simulation in the laboratory; (2) description of the biological and clinical effects of such UV exposure in an in vitro reconstructed human skin model and in human skin in vivo, emphasizing the contribution of UVA rays and (3) analysis of photoprotection approaches dedicated to prevent the harmful impact of such UV exposure.

Diversity of biological effects induced by longwave UVA rays (UVA1) in reconstructed skin.

Despite their preponderance amongst the ultraviolet (UV) range received on Earth, the biological impacts of longwave UVA1 rays (340–400 nm) upon human skin have not been investigated so thoroughly. Nevertheless, recent studies have proven their harmful effects and involvement in carcinogenesis and immunosuppression. In this work, an in vitro reconstructed human skin model was used for exploring the effects of UVA1 at molecular, cellular and tissue levels. A biological impact of UVA1 throughout the whole reconstructed skin structure could be evidenced, from morphology to gene expression analysis. UVA1 induced immediate injuries such as generation of reactive oxygen species and thymine dimers DNA damage, accumulating preferentially in dermal fibroblasts and basal keratinocytes, followed by significant cellular alterations, such as fibroblast apoptosis and lipid peroxidation. The full genome transcriptomic study showed a clear UVA1 molecular signature with the modulation of expression of 461 and 480 genes in epidermal keratinocytes and dermal fibroblasts, respectively (fold change> = 1.5 and adjusted p value<0.001). Functional enrichment analysis using GO, KEGG pathways and bibliographic analysis revealed a real stress with up-regulation of genes encoding heat shock proteins or involved in oxidative stress response. UVA1 also affected a wide panel of pathways and functions including cancer, proliferation, apoptosis and development, extracellular matrix and metabolism of lipids and glucose. Strikingly, one quarter of modulated genes was related to innate immunity: genes involved in inflammation were strongly up-regulated while genes involved in antiviral defense were severely down-regulated. These transcriptomic data were confirmed in dose-response and time course experiments using quantitative PCR and protein quantification. Links between the evidenced UVA1-induced impacts and clinical consequences of UVA1 exposure such as photo-aging, photo-immunosuppression and cancer are discussed. These early molecular events support the contribution of UVA1 to long term harmful consequences of UV exposure and underline the need of an adequate UVA1 photoprotection.

Solar ultraviolet radiation induces biological alterations in human skin in vitro: Relevance of a well-balanced UVA/UVB protection

Cutaneous damages such as sunburn, pigmentation, and photoaging are known to be induced by acute as well as repetitive sun exposure. Not only for basic research, but also for the design of the most efficient photoprotection, it is crucial to understand and identify the early biological events occurring after ultraviolet (UV) exposure. Reconstructed human skin models provide excellent and reliable in vitro tools to study the UV-induced alterations of the different skin cell types, keratinocytes, fibroblasts, and melanocytes in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Using different in vitro human skin models, the effects of UV light (UVB and UVA) were investigated. UVB-induced damages are essentially epidermal, with the typical sunburn cells and DNA lesions, whereas UVA radiation-induced damages are mostly located within the dermal compartment. Pigmentation can also be obtained after solar simulated radiation exposure of pigmented reconstructed skin model. Those models are also highly adequate to assess the potential of sunscreens to protect the skin from UV-associated damage, sunburn reaction, photoaging, and pigmentation. The results showed that an effective photoprotection is provided by broad-spectrum sunscreens with a potent absorption in both UVB and UVA ranges.

Large scale study of epidermal recovery after stratum corneum removal: dynamics of genomic response

Please cite this paper as: Large scale study of epidermal recovery after stratum corneum removal: dynamics of genomic response. Experimental Dermatology 2010; 19: 259–268.

Modulations of gene expression induced by daily ultraviolet light can be prevented by a broad spectrum sunscreen.

Realistic non-zenithal solar ultraviolet (UV) exposure, obtained using standard ultraviolet daylight spectrum (DUVR), has deleterious impact on epidermal and dermal compartments of human skin. The present study was designed to assess gene expression in human reconstructed skin following exposure to DUVR and the protective effect of a broad spectrum sunscreen. Reconstructed skins were exposed to a realistic daily UV dose of 12 J/cm(2) DUVR in the presence of a sunscreen product (Sun(burn) Protection Factor (SPF)=13 and UVA protection factor UVAPF (PPD) 10.5) or its vehicle. Six hours post exposure, gene expression was investigated in fibroblasts (225 genes) and keratinocytes (244 genes) separately using quantitative PCR arrays. DUVR exposure led to significant modulation of 35 and 66 genes in fibroblasts and keratinocytes, respectively. These genes were involved in extracellular matrix homeostasis, oxidative stress response, cell growth, inflammation and epidermal differentiation. Sunscreen use significantly reduced DUVR-induced gene modulation. Hierarchical clustering showed that gene expression profiles in protected and DUVR-exposed samples were very close to those of unexposed samples. The number of DUVR-modulated genes was significantly decreased by tested sunscreen (zero and four modulated genes in fibroblasts and keratinocytes, respectively). Our results demonstrate that a broad-spectrum sunscreen product is highly effective in protecting reconstructed human skin against DUVR-induced changes in gene expression.