Pulsed electrical stimulation and amino acid derivatives promote collagen gene expression in human dermal fibroblasts

Abstract

Several collagen types are important for maintaining skin structure and function. Previous reports show that L-hydroxyproline (Hyp), N-acetyl-L-hydroxyproline (AHyp), and L-alanyl-L-glutamine (Aln-Gln) are biological active substances with collagen synthesis-promoting effects. In this study, we combined the promotive effects of pulsed electrical stimulation (PES) with three amino acid derivatives (AADs) in human dermal broblasts. Fibroblasts were exposed to PES with a 4,800 Hz pulse frequency and a voltage at 1 V or 5 V for 15 minutes. The gene expression of type I and collagen ( brillar collagen), type and collagen (basement membrane collagen and anchoring bril collagen) were measured by RT-PCR 48 hours after PES. PES alone promoted the expression of COL1A1 and COL3A1 at 5 V but did not alter that of COL4A1 and COL7A1. Each AAD and the AAD mixture promoted the expression of COL4A1 and COL7A1 but either repressed, or did not alter, that of COL1A1 and COL3A1. Compared to treatment with each AAD, PES at 5 V with Hyp promoted the expression of COL1A1 and COL3A1, enhanced COL3A1 expression with AHyp, and stimulated COL3A1 expression with Aln-Gln, while COL4A1 and COL7A1 expressions were not affected. PES and the AAD mixture signi cantly promoted COL4A1 expression in a voltage-dependent manner, and COL1A1 and COL3A1 demonstrated a similar but nonsigni cant trend, whereas COL7A1 expression was not affected. The combination of PES with each AAD or the AAD mixture may improve skin structure and function by increasing the expression of basement membrane collagen and dermal brillar collagen.

A Low-Cost, Scalable, and Configurable Multi-Electrode System for Electrical Bio-Interfacing with In-Vitro Cell Cultures

“…This limits the applicability of the C-Dish™ to only the in vitro stimulation of cells. Another recent setup used by Urabe et al uses a PCB mounted with carbon electrodes (designed for a 24-well culture dish setup) to electrically stimulate human dermal fibroblasts [35].…”