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Effects of non-ablative fractional erbium glass laser treatment on gene regulation in human three-dimensional skin models

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Abstract

Clinical experiences with non-ablative fractional erbium glass laser therapy have demonstrated promising results for dermal remodelling and for the indications of striae, surgical scars and acne scars. So far, molecular effects on human skin following treatment with these laser systems have not been elucidated. Our aim was to investigate laser-induced effects on skin morphology and to analyse molecular effects on gene regulation. Therefore, human three-dimensional (3D) organotypic skin models were irradiated with non-ablative fractional erbium glass laser systems enabling qRT-PCR, microarray and histological studies at same and different time points. A decreased mRNA expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) 3 and 9 was observed 3 days after treatment. MMP3 also remained downregulated on protein level, whereas the expression of other MMPs like MMP9 was recovered or even upregulated 5 days after irradiation. Inflammatory gene regulatory responses measured by the expression of chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligands (CXCL1, 2, 5, 6) and interleukin expression (IL8) were predominantly reduced. Epidermal differentiation markers such as loricrin, filaggrin-1 and filaggrin-2 were upregulated by both tested laser optics, indicating a potential epidermal involvement. These effects were also shown on protein level in the immunofluorescence analysis. This novel standardised laser-treated human 3D skin model proves useful for monitoring time-dependent ex vivo effects of various laser systems on gene expression and human skin morphology. Our study reveals erbium glass laser-induced regulations of MMP and interleukin expression. We speculate that these alterations on gene expression level could play a role for dermal remodelling, anti-inflammatory effects and increased epidermal differentiation. Our finding may have implications for further understanding of the molecular mechanism of erbium glass laser-induced effects on human skin.

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    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Department of Dermatology and Allergology, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52074, Aachen, Germany

      Philipp M. Amann, Yvonne Marquardt, Claudia Skazik-Voogt, Ruth Heise & Jens M. Baron

    2. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

      Timm Steiner & Frank Hölzle

    3. Interdisciplinary Center for Laser Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

      Timm Steiner, Frank Hölzle & Jens M. Baron

    Authors
    1. Philipp M. Amann
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    2. Yvonne Marquardt
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    3. Timm Steiner
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    4. Frank Hölzle
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    5. Claudia Skazik-Voogt
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    6. Ruth Heise
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    7. Jens M. Baron
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    Correspondence to Philipp M. Amann or Jens M. Baron.

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    All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional ethics committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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    Ruth Heise and Jens M. Baron contributed equally to this work.

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    Amann, P.M., Marquardt, Y., Steiner, T. et al. Effects of non-ablative fractional erbium glass laser treatment on gene regulation in human three-dimensional skin models. Lasers Med Sci 31, 397–404 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10103-015-1863-x

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    • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10103-015-1863-x

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