The Inhibitory Effects of Anti-Oxidants on Ultraviolet-Induced Up-Regulation of the Wrinkling-Inducing Enzyme Neutral Endopeptidase in Human Fibroblasts

We recently reported that the over-expression of skin fibroblast-derived neutral endopeptidase (NEP) plays a pivotal role in impairing the three-dimensional architecture of dermal elastic fibers during the biological mechanism of ultraviolet (UV)-induced skin wrinkling. In that process, a UVB-associated epithelial-mesenchymal cytokine interaction as well as a direct UVA-induced cellular stimulation are associated with the up-regulation of NEP in human fibroblasts. In this study, we characterized the mode of action of ubiquinol(10) which may abrogate the up-regulation of NEP by dermal fibroblasts, resulting in a reported in vivo anti-wrinkling action, and compared that with 3 other anti-oxidants, astaxanthin (AX), riboflavin (RF) and flavin mononucleotide (FMN). Post-irradiation treatment with all 4 of those anti-oxidants elicited an interrupting effect on the UVB-associated epithelial-mesenchymal cytokine interaction leading to the up-regulation of NEP in human fibroblasts but with different modes of action. While AX mainly served as an inhibitor of the secretion of wrinkle-inducing cytokines, such as interleukin-1α (IL-1α) and granulocyte macrophage colony stimulatory factor (GM-CSF) in UVB-exposed epidermal keratinocytes, ubiquinol(10), RF and FMN predominantly interrupted the IL-1α and GM-CSF-stimulated expression of NEP in dermal fibroblasts. On the other hand, as for the UVA-associated mechanism, similar to the abrogating effects reported for AX and FMN, ubiquinol(10) but not RF had the potential to abrogate the increased expression of NEP and matrix-metalloproteinase-1 in UVA-exposed human fibroblasts. Our findings strongly support the in vivo anti-wrinkling effects of ubiquinol(10) and AX on human and animal skin and provide convincing proof of the UV-induced wrinkling mechanism that essentially focuses on the over-expression of NEP by dermal fibroblasts as an intrinsic causative factor.