skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: A novel mechanism of filaggrin induction and sunburn prevention by β-damascenone in Skh-1 mice

Journal Article · · Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology

Understanding how oral administration of aroma terpenes can prevent sunburn or skin cancer in mice could lead to more effective and safer ways of blocking sun damage to human skin. To establish sunburn preventive activity, female Skh-1 mice were given oral β-damascenone followed by irradiation with UVR from fluorescent ‘sunlamps’. The following endpoints were evaluated versus controls at various times between 1 and 12 days after the terpene: whole genome gene expression and in situ immunohistochemistry of PCNA, keratin10, filaggrin and caspase 14, and sunburn was evaluated at 5 days. UVR-induced sunburn was prevented by a single oral β-damascenone dose as low as 20 μL (0.95 mg/g body weight). Microarray analysis showed sunburn prevention doses of β-damascenone up-regulated several types of cornification genes, including keratins 1 and 10, filaggrin, caspase 14, loricrin, hornerin and 6 late cornified envelope genes. Immunohistochemical studies of PCNA labeling showed that β-damascenone increased the proliferation rates of the following cell types: epidermal basal cells, follicular outer root sheath cells and sebaceous gland cells. Keratin 10 was not affected by β-damascenone in epidermis, and filaggrin and caspase 14 were increased in enlarged sebaceous glands. The thickness of the cornified envelope plus sebum layer nearly doubled within 1 day after administration of the β-damascenone and remained at or above double thickness for at least 12 days. β-Damascenone protected against sunburn by activating a sebaceous gland-based pathway that fortified and thickened the cornified envelope plus sebum layer in a way that previously has been observed to occur only in keratinocytes. -- Highlights: ► Orally administered β-damascenone prevented UVB-induced sunburn in Skh-1 mice. ► Filaggrin and caspase 14 genes were induced in sebaceous gland cells. ► Numerous cornification genes were up-regulated by β-damascenone. ► β-Damascenone stimulated cell division in epidermal and follicular keratinocytes. ► Results explained by induction of a novel sebaceous gland system of UVR protection.

OSTI ID:
22216004
Journal Information:
Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, Vol. 265, Issue 3; Other Information: Copyright (c) 2012 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved.; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0041-008X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English