Shiseido uses T cells and fermented extracts to remove age-causing cells

Shiseido unveils two studies to tackle aging skin concerns. The Japanese beauty giant says cytotoxic CD4+ T cells (CD4 CTL) and fermented camellia seed extract can eliminate aged fibroblasts or senescent cells, which are known to cause aging as they stop multiplying and don’t die off when they should.

CD4 CTL is an immune T cell abundant in long-lived people, considered “models of ideal health and longevity.” 

The Japanese beauty company expects the fermented camellia seed extract to enhance the effect of skin immune cells and eliminate senescent cells. The extract is used in skin care solutions.

Shiseido aims to advance its skin immunity research further to develop beauty solutions for the skin “beyond the boundaries of age” based on its knowledge of immune cells.

Removing aged cells

Advancing age does not solely correlate with the accumulation of senescent cells in the skin.

It was found that CD4 CTL suppresses the accumulation of senescent cells. They became recognized as part of human cytomegalovirus as an antigen presented on the surface of senescent cells, which then led to the selective elimination of the aging cells.

Shiseido finds new ways to get rid of fibroblasts in the skin.Shiseido conducted the research with the Cutaneous Biology Research Center (CBRC) at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, US.

They believe CD4 CTL selectively eliminates senescent cells in the skin, and that CXCL9, a protein produced by epidermal keratinocytes, is a factor that recruits memory T cells around senescent cells.

Memory T cells respond quickly and aggressively against familiar foreign substances.

For over thirty years, Shiseido has collaborated with CBRC on research on skin immune function, focusing on “preventing future skin problems with the power of the skin itself.”

Upcycled Japanese camellia

Shiseido’s fermented camellia seed extract was developed using Japanese camellia resources in collaboration with Yaegaki Sake and Spirits, a Japanese sake brewing company.

“We have created an extract by combining Japanese fermentation technology and the upcycled camellia seed pomace from the production process of camellia oil, which mostly ends up as waste in typical cases,” says the cosmetics company.

The cosmetics company has used various parts of Japanese camellia, such as its seeds, flowers and leaves.

Shiseido selected ki-koji, which abundantly contains proteases (enzymes that break down proteins into amino acids) and examined the optimal fermentation conditions for the camellia seed cake. This led to a marked increase in amino acids, sources of beauty ingredients.