Screening system establishment for potential anti-aging agent using UVA-induced aging of human dermal stem/progenitor cells

Tissue specific stem cells were identified in adult stromal tissues. Ultraviolet (UV) radiation induces photo-aging on human skin. Because of UVA irradiation, it is thought that aging phenomenon such as skin elasticity reduction, wrinkle formation, and retardation of wound healing were occurred. In the present study we found that reduction of human dermal stem/progenitor cells (hDSPCs) functionality by UVA irradiation. We enriched hDSPCs from normal human dermal fibroblasts. To develop the screening system for potential anti-aging agent using hDSPCs, we treated UVA in the hDSPCs. To evaluate whether the stemness of hDSPCs is down-regulated in UVA treated hDSPCs, we measured the expression levels of SOX2, NANOG, and S100B, which are well-known representative dermal stem/progenitor cell markers. We observed that UVA-irradiated hDSPCs had lower expression levels of those markers compared with non-treated hDSPCs. Furthermore UVA irradiation reduces the multipotency of hDSPCs to differentiate into adipocytes, chondrocytes, and osteoblasts. In this study, we suggest that chronic aging model by UVA treated hDSPCs can be used for new screening system for anti-aging agents.