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
Review
. 2022 Feb;21(2):e13550.
doi: 10.1111/acel.13550. Epub 2022 Jan 17.

Tissue engineering strategies to bioengineer the ageing skin phenotype in vitro

Lydia Costello  1 , Teresa Dicolandrea  2 , Ryan Tasseff  2 , Robert Isfort  2 , Charlie Bascom  2 , Thomas von Zglinicki  3 , Stefan Przyborski  1   4
Affiliations
Review

Tissue engineering strategies to bioengineer the ageing skin phenotype in vitro

Lydia Costello et al. Aging Cell. 2022 Feb.

Abstract

Human skin ageing is a complex and heterogeneous process, which is influenced by genetically determined intrinsic factors and accelerated by cumulative exposure to extrinsic stressors. In the current world ageing demographic, there is a requirement for a bioengineered ageing skin model, to further the understanding of the intricate molecular mechanisms of skin ageing, and provide a distinct and biologically relevant platform for testing actives and formulations. There have been many recent advances in the development of skin models that recapitulate aspects of the ageing phenotype in vitro. This review encompasses the features of skin ageing, the molecular mechanisms that drive the ageing phenotype, and tissue engineering strategies that have been utilised to bioengineer ageing skin in vitro.

Keywords: ageing; bioengineered tissue; human; in vitro; molecular biology of aging; skin.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

SP acts as a consultant for Reprocell Europe.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Human skin architecture. Human skin is composed of the epidermis, dermis and hypodermis. The epidermal layers include the stratum basale (SB), stratum spinosum (SS), stratum granulosum (SG) and stratum corneum (SC). The dermis is composed of the papillary (PD) and reticular (RD) layers. Scale bar: 50 μm
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Age‐related changes in human skin. (a) Human skin undergoes distinct remodelling with age, as a result of intrinsic changes and extrinsic lifestyle factors. The young skin sample is from a photoprotected site of a 21‐year‐old female, the intrinsically aged skin sample is from a photoprotected site of a 64‐year‐old female, and the extrinsically aged skin sample is from a photoexposed site of a 65‐year‐old female. (b) Many characteristic structural changes are observed in the epidermis, dermis and hypodermis with age, which contribute to the ageing skin phenotype
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Molecular mechanisms of skin ageing. Intrinsic and extrinsic skin ageing have overlapping, underpinning molecular mechanisms such as cellular senescence, oxidative stress, the upregulation of MMPs and deposition of AGEs that drive the altered phenotype
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Bioengineering the next generation of ageing skin models in vitro. (a) 3D skin models provide a more predictive platform for fundamental and translational research, to bridge the gap between 2D cell culture and human clinical studies. (b) Advanced ageing skin models could incorporate several molecular mechanisms to more accurately model the complexity of human skin ageing
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Abdullah, K. M. , Abul Qais, F. , Ahmad, I. , & Naseem, I. (2017). Inhibitory effect of vitamin B3 against glycation and reactive oxygen species production in HSA: An in vitro approach. Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics, 627, 21–29. 10.1016/j.abb.2017.06.009 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Adamus, J. , Aho, S. , Meldrum, H. , Bosko, C. , & Lee, J.‐M. (2014). p16INK4A influences the aging phenotype in the living skin equivalent. The Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 134(4), 1131–1133. 10.1038/jid.2013.468 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Alili, L. , Diekmann, J. , Giesen, M. , Holtkötter, O. , & Brenneisen, P. (2014). A drug‐induced accelerated senescence (DIAS) is a possibility to study aging in time lapse. Age (Dordrecht, Netherlands), 36(3), 9658. 10.1007/s11357-014-9658-8 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ashworth, J. L. , Murphy, G. , Rock, M. J. , Sherratt, M. J. , Shapiro, S. D. , Shuttleworth, C. A. , & Kielty, C. M. (1999). Fibrillin degradation by matrix metalloproteinases: Implications for connective tissue remodelling. The Biochemical Journal, 340 (Pt 1), 171–181. 10.1042/0264-6021:3400171 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Avery, N. C. , & Bailey, A. J. (2006). The effects of the Maillard reaction on the physical properties and cell interactions of collagen. Pathologie Biologie, 54(7), 387–395. 10.1016/j.patbio.2006.07.005 - DOI - PubMed

Publication types