HUMAN EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS-DERIVED KERATINOCYTES AS A NOVEL EPIDERMAL CELLULAR MODEL IN AGING STUDIES

Abstract

ALTHOUGH HUMAN SKIN AGING HAS BEEN A TOPIC OF INTEREST FOR CLINICIANS AND RESEARCHERS FOR MORE THAN A CENTURY, THERE IS STILL A LACK OF SATISFACTORY HUMAN-LIKE MODEL SYSTEMS TO UNDERSTAND THE ADVERSE EFFECTS OF SKIN AGING AND IMPLEMENTING EFFECTIVE ANTI-AGING REGIMENS. THE HUMAN AGED POPULATION IS INCREASING GLOBALLY, AND ELDERLY PEOPLE ARE MORE SUSCEPTIBLE TO MALFUNCTION AND DISEASE. APART FROM NATURALLY INDUCED SKIN AGING, COMPLICATIONS IN SKIN INJURIES RESULTING FROM ENVIRONMENTAL TRAUMA POSE MAJOR SOCIAL AND HEALTH PROBLEMS. IN ADDITION TO UNDERSTANDING THE PROGRESSION OF SKIN AGING AND DISEASE, THERE IS AN URGENT NEED FOR ROBUST HUMAN SKIN-SPECIFIC IN VITRO MODELS FOR SCREENING THE COSMETIC AND PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS THAT CAN MITIGATE THE SYMPTOMS OF AGING.

RECENTLY, HUMAN EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS (HESCS) HAVE BEEN SUGGESTED AS AN UNLIMITED AND PHYSIOLOGICALLY-RELEVANT SOURCE TO OBTAIN NEARLY ALL CELL TYPES PRESENT IN THE HUMAN BODY. NEVERTHELESS, THE USE OF HESC-DERIVED EPIDERMA