Thioredoxin promotes the regeneration and binding of elastic fibre and basement membrane.

Objective: Thioredoxin (TRX), a ubiquitous protein with strong antioxidant activity, decreases in the skin with age. A decrease in TRX is expected to induce cellular senescence, chronic inflammation, and degeneration and loss of extracellular matrix (ECM), such as collagen and elastin within the skin. In this study, we investigated the effects of TRX addition to excised skin or skin models to understand the role of TRX on cells and ECM within the skin.

Investigation of stratum corneum cell morphology and content using novel machine-learning image analysis.

Background: The morphology and content of stratum corneum (SC) cells provide information on the physiological condition of the skin. Although the morphological and biochemical properties of the SC are known, no method is available to fully access and interpret this information. This study aimed to develop a method to comprehensively decode the physiological information of the skin, based on the SC.

Long Hanging Structure of Collagen VII Connects the Elastic Fibers and the Basement Membrane in Young Skin Tissue.

Aging leads to substantial structural changes in the skin. Elastic fibers maintain skin structure, but their degeneration and loss of function with age result in wrinkle formation and loss of skin elasticity. Oxytalan fiber, a type of elastic fiber, extends close to the dermal-epidermal junction (DEJ) from the back of the dermis.

Evaluation of elastin fibres in young and aged eyelids and abdominal skin using computational 3D structural analysis.

Background: Aging-related degeneration of elastic fibres causes skin wrinkles and loss of elasticity. A correlation has been reported between dermal elastic fibre degradation and wrinkles. However, the mechanism of wrinkle formation is complex and unclear.

Elastin microfibril interface-located protein 1 and its catabolic enzyme, cathepsin K, regulate the age-related structure of elastic fibers in the skin.

Introduction: The elastic fiber structure becomes shorter, thicker, and curved with age. Nonetheless, the proteins and catabolic enzymes influencing the maintenance of and change in the three-dimensional (3D) structure of elastic fibers remain unknown. This study aimed to identify the proteins involved in the maintenance and degeneration of elastic fiber structures.