Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Jun;19(6):1522-1527.
doi: 10.1111/jocd.13186. Epub 2019 Oct 11.

Increased pro-collagen 1, elastin, and TGF-β1 expression by copper ions in an ex-vivo human skin model

Navit Ogen-Shtern  1 , Katerina Chumin  1 , Guy Cohen  1 , Gadi Borkow  2
Affiliations

Increased pro-collagen 1, elastin, and TGF-β1 expression by copper ions in an ex-vivo human skin model

Navit Ogen-Shtern et al. J Cosmet Dermatol. 2020 Jun.

Abstract

Background: Clinical studies demonstrated that continued exposure to copper oxide-embedded textiles, such as pillowcases, significantly reduces depth of facial wrinkles and skin sagging and enhances skin elasticity.

Objective: Study the mechanisms by which the exposure to copper ions improve the well-being of the skin.

Methods: Human skin explants, cultured ex-vivo, were exposed topically to saline alone or saline containing 0.02 or 1 µmol/L copper ions. The skin explants viability, histology and secretion of elastin, pro-collagen 1, and TGF-β1 to the culture medium were determined at various time intervals.

Results: Exposure to saline containing 0.02 or 1 µmol/L copper ions did not affect the viability or morphological profile of the explants as compared to control explants treated with saline only. Notably, exposure of the skin grafts to 0.02 or to 1 µmol/L of copper ions resulted in ~100% and ~20% increases in elastin and pro-collagen 1 concentrations, respectively, in the culture supernatants already after 1 day of incubation, which remained statistically significantly elevated also after 6 days on incubation, as compared to the control explants. In addition, ~2- and ~4-fold increases in TGF-ß1 levels in the culture supernatants of explants exposed to the copper ions were detected after 4 and 6 days of culture, as compared to the explants exposed to saline alone.

Conclusion: This study substantiated the anti-aging effect that copper ions have on the skin and gave insights into the mechanisms by which exposure of the skin to copper ions improves the skin well-being.

Keywords: TGF-β1; copper oxide; cuprous oxide; elastin; ex-vivo skin model; pro-collagen.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

REFERENCES

    1. Rucker RB, Kosonen T, Clegg MS, et al. Copper, lysyl oxidase, and extracellular matrix protein cross-linking. Am J Clin Nutr. 1998;67:996S-1002S.
    1. Philips N, Keller T, Gonzalez S. TGF beta-like regulation of matrix metalloproteinases by anti-transforming growth factor-beta, and anti-transforming growth factor-beta 1 antibodies in dermal fibroblasts: Implications for wound healing. Wound Repair Regen. 2004;12:53-59.
    1. Atsawasuwan P, Mochida Y, Katafuchi M, et al. Lysyl oxidase binds transforming growth factor-beta and regulates its signaling via amine oxidase activity. J Biol Chem. 2008;283:34229-34240.
    1. Kammeyer A, Luiten RM. Oxidation events and skin aging. Ageing Res Rev. 2015;21:16-29.
    1. Uauy R, Olivares M, Gonzalez M. Essentiality of copper in humans. Am J Clin Nutr. 1998;67:952S-959S.

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources