The anti-photoaging effect of C-phycocyanin on ultraviolet B-irradiated BALB/c-nu mouse skin

Introduction: C-phycocyanin (C-PC), a photosynthetic protein obtained from Spirulina, is regarded a highly promising commercially available biochemical. Numerous in vitro and in vivo studies have provided evidence of C-PC’s ability to mitigate the inflammatory response, alleviate oxidative stress, and facilitate wound healing. However, despite the existing knowledge regarding C-PC’s protective mechanism against cellular apoptosis induced by ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation, further in vivo experiments are needed to explore its anti-photoaging mechanism. Methods: In this study, a UVB-induced skin photoaging model was established using BALB/c-nu mice, and the potential protective effects of topically administered c-PC were investigated by various molecular biology tools. In addition, a novel delivery system, C-PC nanodispersion, was developed to facilitate the transdermal delivery of C-PC. Results: C- PC demonstrated significant anti-photoaging activities in the UVB-induced skin. The application of C-PC to the dorsal skin of the mice resulted in improved macroscopic characteristics, such as reduced sagging and coarse wrinkling, under UVB irradiation Histological analyses showed that C-PC treatment significantly decreased the symptoms of epidermal thickening, prevented dermal collagen fiber loosening, increased the hydroxyproline (Hyp) content and activities of antioxidant enzymes (such as superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase) in mouse skin, decreased malondialdehyde levels and expressions of inflammatory factors (interleukin-1α [IL-1α], IL-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α), reduced matrix metalloproteinase [MMP-3 and MMP-9] expressions, and inhibited the phosphorylation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase, extracellular signal-regulated kinase, and p38 proteins in the mitogen-activated protein kinase family. Discussion: By analyzing the results of the study, a new drug delivery system, C-PC nano-dispersion, was proposed, and the anti-photoaging effect of C-PC and its mechanism were investigated.