Background: Ultraviolet radiation causes skin damage due to increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and inflammatory intermediates and direct attack of DNA of skin cells. Astaxanthin is a reddish pigment that belongs to a group of chemicals called carotenoids and has protective effects as an antioxidant.
Objective: To determine the beneficial effects of astaxanthin on damaged human skin after exposure to ultraviolet radiation.
Methods: Normal human epidermal keratinocytes (NHEKs) were pre-treated with astaxanthin for 24 hours and exposed to ultraviolet B (UVB) irradiation. After 24 hours, the Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay measured cell viability, ROS assay and flow cytometry analysis assessed apoptosis, and western blotting was performed to determine expression of apoptosis-related proteins.
Results: Astaxanthin significantly inhibited UVB-induced NHEKs cytotoxicity. Pretreatment of NHEKs with astaxanthin reduced UVB-induced ROS production. Astaxanthin caused significant inhibition of UVB-induced apoptosis, as evidenced by flow cytometry analysis and western blotting.
Conclusion: These results suggest that astaxanthine has a beneficial effect of reducing damage caused by UVB by effectively inhibiting cell death and reducing ROS production in keratinocytes.
Keywords: Apoptosis; Astaxanthine; Keratinocytes; Reactive oxygen species; Ultraviolet rays.
Copyright © The Korean Dermatological Association and The Korean Society for Investigative Dermatology.