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. 2017 Feb 7;12(2):e0171178.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0171178. eCollection 2017.

Preventive effect of dietary astaxanthin on UVA-induced skin photoaging in hairless mice

Toshiyuki Komatsu  1 , Suguru Sasaki  1 , Yuki Manabe  1 , Takashi Hirata  1 , Tatsuya Sugawara  1
Affiliations
Free PMC article

Preventive effect of dietary astaxanthin on UVA-induced skin photoaging in hairless mice

Toshiyuki Komatsu et al. PLoS One. .
Free PMC article

Abstract

Astaxanthin, a carotenoid found mainly in seafood, has potential clinical applications due to its antioxidant activity. In this study, we evaluated the effect of dietary astaxanthin derived from Haematococcus pluvialis on skin photoaging in UVA-irradiated hairless mice by assessing various parameters of photoaging. After chronic ultraviolet A (UVA) exposure, a significant increase in transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and wrinkle formation in the dorsal skin caused by UVA was observed, and dietary astaxanthin significantly suppressed these photoaging features. We found that the mRNA expression of lympho-epithelial Kazal-type-related inhibitor, steroid sulfatase, and aquaporin 3 in the epidermis was significantly increased by UVA irradiation for 70 days, and dietary astaxanthin significantly suppressed these increases in mRNA expression to be comparable to control levels. In the dermis, the mRNA expression of matrix metalloprotease 13 was increased by UVA irradiation and significantly suppressed by dietary astaxanthin. In addition, HPLC-PDA analysis confirmed that dietary astaxanthin reached not only the dermis but also the epidermis. Our results indicate that dietary astaxanthin accumulates in the skin and appears to prevent the effects of UVA irradiation on filaggrin metabolism and desquamation in the epidermis and the extracellular matrix in the dermis.

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Conflict of interest statement

FUJIFILM Corporation funded this study and provided support for the author TS. The other authors state no conflict of interest. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Effect of dietary astaxanthin on TEWL levels in the hairless mice.
Data represent the means ± SD (n = 5). Bars with matching letters at each time point are significantly different from each other at P < 0.05.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Photographs of replicas taken from the dorsal skin of the hairless mice.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Effect of dietary astaxanthin on UVA-induced wrinkle formation in the hairless mice.
Data represent the means ± SD (n = 5). Bars with matching letters at each time point are significantly different from each other at P < 0.05.
Fig 4
Fig 4. Photographs of sections of dorsal skin in hairless mice stained with hematoxylin and eosin.
Fig 5
Fig 5. Astaxanthin concentration in the plasma and skin (epidermis and dermis) of the hairless mice.
Data represent the means ± SD (n = 5). Bars with matching letters are significantly different from each other at P < 0.05.
Fig 6
Fig 6. Effect of dietary astaxanthin on mRNA expression in the epidermis of hairless mice irradiated by UVA.
Data represent the means ± SD (n = 5). Bars with matching letters are significantly different from each other at P < 0.05.
Fig 7
Fig 7. Effect of dietary astaxanthin on the NMF contents in the epidermis of hairless mice irradiated by UVA.
Data represent the means ± SD (n = 5). Bars with matching letters are significantly different from each other at P < 0.05.
Fig 8
Fig 8. Effect of dietary astaxanthin on mRNA expression in the dermis of hairless mice irradiated by UVA.
Data represent the means ± SD (n = 5). Bars with matching letters are significantly different from each other at P < 0.05.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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Grants and funding

FUJIFILM Corporation funded this study and provided support for the author TS. The funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The other authors received no specific funding for this work.