The effect of Q-switched 1064-nm dymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet laser on the skin barrier and collagen synthesis through miR-24-3p

Due to the increase of the world’s population aging, how to restore youthfulness to the skin has attracted much attention. It is well known that collagen synthesis and changes in skin barrier play an important role in the process of skin aging. However, whether Q-switched 1064-nm Nd:YAG laser (1064-QSNYL) determines the involvement of miRNAs in skin collagen synthesis and skin barrier changes remains to be elucidated. Upstream miRNAs of p38 molecular pathway have been predicted by bioinformatic database and the relationship between miRNAs and p38 verified by dual-luciferase reporter gene and Western blotting. RT-qPCR analysis detected the expression of miR-24-3p and mRNA for collagen and skin barrier–related molecules, such as keratin 10 (K10), filaggrin, and Aquaporin 4 (APQ4), in mice back skin and in the keratinocyte cell line HaCaT. Western blotting and immunofluorescence (IF) have been used to detect collagen expression and to localize, as well as quantify K10, filaggrin, and APQ4, respectively. In this study, we show that p38 is the main target gene of miRNA-24-3p, and laser irradiation at 1.5 J/cm(2) inhibits miR-24-3p expression. Irradiation treatment upregulates the moisture, elasticity, hydroxyproline, and superoxide dismutase content of mice skin, as well as inhibits trans-epidermal water loss. Irradiation also increases collagen, K10, filaggrin, and APQ4 in both mice skin and HaCaT cells. Interestingly, we found that miR-24-3p overexpression inhibits the effect of irradiation on collagen synthesis and skin barrier. We show for the first time that 1064-QSNYL promotes collagen synthesis and protective effects on skin barrier by downregulating miR-24-3p.