Procter & Gamble International Operations SA SG Branch, Singapore, Singapore.
The Procter & Gamble Company, Mason Business Center, Mason, Ohio, USA.
Exp Dermatol. 2024 Aug;33(8):e15163. doi: 10.1111/exd.15163.
Facial skin redness can be an indicator of skin inflammation, however the physiological connection between facial redness and inflammatory status, as well as its role in age-related skin changes, remains poorly understood. This study aims to investigate the association between the pattern of facial skin redness and biological inflammatory status, as well as age-related changes occurring in the skin. Four studies were conducted recruiting healthy Northern Asian females. Disordered spatial patterns of facial skin redness signals were assessed using image analysis, i.e., the a* gradient algorithm, which quantifies the disordered shape and pattern of localized redness signals on facial skin. This redness pattern was compared with (1) inflammatory protein markers (IL-1Ra/ IL-1α and IL-8) measured from stripped corneocyte samples, (2) gene expression profiles obtained through transcriptome analysis using skin biopsy samples, and (3) the distribution pattern of blood vessel measured using a photoacoustic microscope. The association between the skin redness pattern and current and future ageing-related skin changes was examined through a longitudinal study tracking the same subjects for 10 years. A significant correlation was observed between the a* gradient and the levels of inflammatory cytokines (IL-1Ra/IL-1α and IL-8). Transcriptome analysis revealed upregulation of genes related to acute inflammation, chronic inflammation, cellular senescence, and angiogenesis in subjects with higher a* gradients. The high a* gradient group exhibited an extension of blood vessel diameter and increased blood vessel density, while the medium a* gradient group only exhibited blood vessel extension. Lastly, the 10-year longitudinal study demonstrated that the a* gradient was associated with current and future skin ageing-related attributes, such as increased skin texture and wrinkle formation. The spatial pattern of localized redness on the skin reflects the biological inflammatory status, and this inflammatory condition helps predict current and future age-related skin changes.
面部皮肤发红可能是皮肤炎症的一个指标，但面部发红与炎症状态之间的生理联系，以及它在与年龄相关的皮肤变化中的作用仍知之甚少。本研究旨在探讨面部皮肤发红模式与生物炎症状态以及皮肤发生的与年龄相关的变化之间的关系。进行了四项研究，招募了健康的北亚女性。使用图像分析评估面部皮肤发红的无序空间模式，即 a梯度算法，该算法量化了面部皮肤局部发红信号的不规则形状和模式。将这种红色模式与（1）从剥落的角质细胞样本中测量的炎症蛋白标志物（IL-1Ra/IL-1α 和 IL-8），（2）通过皮肤活检样本进行转录组分析获得的基因表达谱，以及（3）使用光声显微镜测量的血管分布模式进行比较。通过对同一受试者进行长达 10 年的纵向研究来检查皮肤发红模式与当前和未来与年龄相关的皮肤变化之间的关联。观察到 a梯度与炎症细胞因子（IL-1Ra/IL-1α 和 IL-8）的水平之间存在显著相关性。转录组分析显示，在 a梯度较高的受试者中，与急性炎症、慢性炎症、细胞衰老和血管生成相关的基因上调。高 a梯度组表现出血管直径的扩展和血管密度的增加，而中 a梯度组仅表现出血管的扩展。最后，10 年的纵向研究表明，a梯度与当前和未来与年龄相关的皮肤属性相关，例如皮肤纹理增加和皱纹形成。皮肤局部发红的空间模式反映了生物炎症状态，这种炎症状况有助于预测当前和未来与年龄相关的皮肤变化。
