Long term and repeated exposure of UV light on the skin often induces chronic skin diseases such as skin cancer as well as photoaging, and the mechanisms of these skin damages are closely associated with up-regulation of matrix metalloproteinase's (MMPs) activities. We investigated the effect of 2,4,7-trihydroxyisoflavone purified from the whole plants of Viola hondoensis W. BECKER et H BOISSIEU (Violaceae) on the expression of MMPs in UV-B irradiated old aged human skin fibroblasts. 2,4,7-trihydroxyisoflavone markedly reduced UV-induced MMP-1 expression, but not MMP-2, at the both mRNA and protein levels in a dose-dependent manner. Our report is the first description for the ability of 2,4,7-trihydroxyisoflavone to regulate MMP-1 expression from ultraviolet-B irradiated primary cultured old aged human skin fibroblasts.Key words Viola hondoensis; 2Ј,4Ј,7-trihydroxyisoflavone; matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-1; MMP-2; aged human skin fibroblastThe skin aging process can be divided into intrinsic aging and photoaging. Damage to human skin due to repeated exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation (photoaging) and damage occurring as a result of the passage of time (intrinsic aging) are considered to be distinct entities rather than similar skin aging processes. Photoaging of skin is caused by genetically determined or intrinsic processes superimposed upon the degenerative changes due to solar radiation. 1) Alterations and deficiencies of collagen, the major structural component of skin, have been suggested to be a cause of the skin wrinkling observed in photoaged and naturally aged skin.
2,3)The dermis contains predominantly type I and type III collagen, elastin, proteoglycans, and fibronectin. Since collagen fibrils and elastin are responsible for the strength and resiliency of skin, their disarrangement during photoaging causes the skin to appear aged. Recently, it was suggested that excessive matrix degradation by UV-induced MMP-1 secreted by various cells, including, keratinocytes, fibroblasts, and inflammatory cells, contributes substantially to the connective tissue damage that occurs during photoaging. [4][5][6] The expression of MMPs proteins in the dermis of sunexposed and sun-protected skin of elderly subjects is known to differ. 5) Photodamaged skin of the elderly shows higher MMP-1 protein expression, than the intrinsically aged skin in the same individual.5) Thus, this resulting higher expression of MMP-1 in photoaged skin may cause severe collagen deficiency and wrinkling. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a family of zinc-dependent endoproteinases that play pivotal roles in the dynamic remodeling of extracellular matrix. Based on substrate preference and structural homology, MMPs are sub-classified into functional groups: collagenases, gelatinases, stromelysins, matrilysins, membrane typeMMPs (MT-MMPs) and other non-classified MMPs. 7) MMPs are frequently overexpressed by the various extracellular stimuli including growth factors, cytokines, tumor promoters, and UV, and this increase in MMP-related ac...