Chalyk N E, Bandaletova T Y, Kyle N H, Petyaev I M
Lycotec Ltd, Cambridge, UK.
Institute of Cardiology, Saratov, Russia.
Skin Res Technol. 2017 May;23(2):212-220. doi: 10.1111/srt.12321. Epub 2016 Jul 18.
BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Global increase of human longevity results in the emergence of previously ignored ageing-related problems. Skin ageing is a well-known phenomenon, but active search for scientific approaches to its prevention and even skin rejuvenation is a relatively new area. Although the structure and composition of the stratum corneum (SC), the superficial layer of epidermis, is well studied, relatively little is known about the residual skin surface components (RSSC) that overlay the surface of the SC. The aim of this study was to examine morphological features of RSSC samples non-invasively collected from the surface of human facial skin for the presence of age-related changes.
Residual skin surface component samples were collected by swabbing from the surface of facial skin of 60 adult male volunteers allocated in two age groups: 34 subjects aged in the range 18-32 years and 26 subjects aged in the range 58-72 years. The collected samples were analysed microscopically: the size of the lipid droplets was measured; desquamated corneocytes and lipid crystals were counted; and microbial presence was assessed semi-quantitatively.
Age-related changes were revealed for all studied components of the RSSC. There was a significant (P = 0.0126) decrease in the size of lipid droplets among older men. Likewise, significantly (P = 0.0252) lower numbers of lipid crystals were present in this group. In contrast, microbial presence in the RSSC was significantly (P = 0.0019) increased in the older group. There was also a trend towards more abundant corneocyte desquamation among older men, but the difference has not reached statistical significance (P = 0.0636).
Non-invasively collected RSSC samples present an informative material for studying age-related changes on the surface of the SC of human facial skin. The results of this study confirm earlier observations regarding age-associated decline of the efficiency of the epidermal barrier and can be used for testing new approaches to skin ageing prevention.
背景/目的：人类寿命的全球增长导致了以前被忽视的与衰老相关问题的出现。皮肤老化是一个众所周知的现象，但积极寻找预防甚至皮肤年轻化的科学方法是一个相对较新的领域。尽管表皮最外层角质层（SC）的结构和组成已得到充分研究，但对于覆盖在SC表面的残留皮肤表面成分（RSSC）却知之甚少。本研究的目的是检查从人类面部皮肤表面无创收集的RSSC样本的形态特征，以确定是否存在与年龄相关的变化。
通过擦拭从60名成年男性志愿者的面部皮肤表面收集残留皮肤表面成分样本，这些志愿者被分为两个年龄组：34名年龄在18 - 32岁之间的受试者和26名年龄在58 - 72岁之间的受试者。对收集的样本进行显微镜分析：测量脂质小滴的大小；计数脱落的角质形成细胞和脂质晶体；并半定量评估微生物的存在情况。
RSSC的所有研究成分均显示出与年龄相关的变化。老年男性中脂质小滴的大小显著减小（P = 0.0126）。同样，该组中脂质晶体的数量也显著减少（P = 0.0252）。相比之下，老年组中RSSC的微生物存在显著增加（P = 0.0019）。老年男性中角质形成细胞脱落也有增多的趋势，但差异未达到统计学意义（P = 0.0636）。
无创收集的RSSC样本为研究人类面部皮肤SC表面与年龄相关的变化提供了丰富的信息材料。本研究结果证实了早期关于表皮屏障效率随年龄下降的观察结果，可用于测试预防皮肤老化的新方法。
