An Experimental Model Design for Photoaging.
Autologous adipose-derived stem cells have shown great promise in applications that treat photodamaged skin. Adipose-derived stem cells also have an antiwrinkle effect; consequently, they have become a topic of primary interest. Nude mice have been used extensively in studies of adipose-derived stem cells, human dermal fibroblasts, and other filler injections. However, a nude mouse model of photoaging has not yet been developed. Thus, we attempted to develop a nude mouse model of photoaging in this study.


METHODS
Fourteen, 5-week-old female BALB/c nude mice were irradiated with ultraviolet-B rays, 6 times a week for 6 weeks. The minimum erythema dose was established before the mice underwent ultraviolet irradiation to minimize the inflammation of the irradiated skin and to determine the initial irradiation dosage. The mean sizes of the wrinkled areas of skin and the mean depths of the wrinkles were compared between the study groups using replica analysis. Skin biopsies were performed on the 6th and 10th weeks of the study.


RESULTS
The mean sizes of the wrinkled areas of skin and the mean depths of the wrinkles increased significantly in the ultraviolet-B-irradiated nude mice compared with the nonirradiated mice, and the thicknesses of the epidermis and dermis of the skin from the upper and lower back were significantly greater after ultraviolet-B irradiation up to the 6th week of treatment (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the ultraviolet-B-irradiated group demonstrated reduced collagen fiber levels.


CONCLUSIONS
We have successfully developed a nude mouse model for research into photoaging, and these results indicate that the nude mouse is a suitable model for investigating the development of photoaging.
Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
Yingfang
Y
Fan
Jae Hoon
JH
Jeong
Ga Young
GY
You
Ji Ung
JU
Park
Tae Hyun
TH
Choi
Sukwha
S
Kim
D000818:Animals; D001706:Biopsy / Q000379:methods; D003094:Collagen / Q000528:radiation effects / Q000648:ultrastructure; D020405:Dermis / Q000473:pathology / Q000528:radiation effects; D004817:Epidermis / Q000473:pathology / Q000528:radiation effects; D004890:Erythema / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008819:Mice, Nude; D023421:Models, Animal; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D012867:Skin / Q000473:pathology / Q000528:radiation effects; D015595:Skin Aging / Q000473:pathology / Q000528:radiation effects*; D013997:Time Factors; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays / Q000145:classification
D003094:Collagen