L’Oréal Brasil’s reconstructed human skin study pinpoints proteins responsible for skin aging

04 Apr 2022 --- A specific protein responsible for Parkinson’s disease has been found to cause a degenerative effect on skin sensoriality – the sensation of touch – which decreases over time. This discovery was brought to light through new collaborative research between L’Oréal Brasil, the D’Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), UFRJ and Episkin.

The study, which used an Episkin model of the reconstructed human epidermis (RHE), found that creating protein aggregates – known to degrade neurons – facilitates skin aging. Its discoveries pave the way for more research into the mechanisms that prevent these proteins from accumulating throughout aging.

The researchers suggest this may aid the development of products that stimulate the sensoriality of aged skin.

“Now we reveal that this same protein can accumulate in the skin and cause degeneration similar to aging,” says Marília Zaluar Guimarães, lead study author, IDOR.

“It is possible that this accumulation is accelerated by exposure to ultraviolet rays. The sensory neurons themselves are the source of the protein.”

Alpha-synuclein’s impact on skin aging
Alpha-synuclein is a protein that clumps together in the brain and damages specific areas, resulting in Parkinson’s disease.

The function of these clusters in the brain had previously been recognized as a causative agent for diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. In conjunction with McGill University, L’Oréal scientists first discovered the presence of these clusters in the skin in 2019.

“Our recent study sheds light on the role of these clusters suggesting that the agglomeration of these proteins in the skin may be related to an increase in its fragility with aging,” says Rodrigo De Vecchi, CEO, Episkin.

The research examined changes in skin physiology over time and the resulting loss of skin sensoriality. In particular, the The researchers discovered that alpha-synuclein aggregates induced skin thinning by causing inflammation and limiting cell growth.The loss of sensoriality in aging skin has psychological consequences, such as lacking the feeling of well-being while applying a lotion or hugging someone.

According to its findings, clusters of these proteins can affect sensory neurons in the skin, which are essential for conveying touch sensations to the brain and being linked to the thinning of the epidermis – the skin’s outermost layer.

Importance of skin sensoriality
The effects of aging on the senses, such as vision and hearing loss, have been extensively researched. The physiological changes in the skin and tactile loss, on the other hand, are still poorly understood, the researchers concede.

The L’Oréal Group was the first to generate reconstructed human skin as a critical tool for skin and human tissue research. L’Oréal introduced sensory neurons in 2017, in partnership with IDOR, enabling the identification of the mechanism of action for these protein clusters.

The loss of sensoriality in aging skin notably has psychological consequences, such as lacking a feeling of well-being while applying a lotion or hugging someone.

De Vecchi stresses that the loss of this sensoriality can directly influence the quality of life, exposing people to additional hazards such as decreased awareness of temperature or texture changes.

Skin regeneration moves increase
Industry players have been tapping into new formulas to boost skin regeneration.

In this space, L’Oréal and Symatese extended their partnership on biomaterials to reconstruct human tissue in skin regeneration procedures.

Meanwhile, a Japanese study conducted earlier this year investigated scarless skin wound healing in animals to establish a model system for scar prevention in human skin. These findings could lead to the development of scarless wound healing technology in surgical and aesthetic medicine.

Edited by Nicole Kerr