Chanel reveals role of microRNAs in skin ageing

Published: 8-May-2013

Scientists say next step will be to think about how to modulate ageing and that this research should produce new applications over the next few years

Chanel Research and Technology (R&T) and Professor Gerry Melino’s research team have identified microRNAs (miRs), which are said to regulate proteins that can prevent the skin from ageing. miRs are very short RNAs (circa 22 nucleotides) that have a direct effect on cellular pathways and processes. Unlike full messenger RNAs (mRNAs), they are not able to codify proteins, but they regulate the expression of genes at transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels, mainly by physically interacting with regular mRNA. They can also turn off the production of proteins required for a particular process, thus stopping that process at just the right moment in time, and their ability to influence many common cellular processes offers tremendous potential for therapeutic and other applications.

Scientists from Chanel R&T, in association with the research team of Professor Melino, an internationally renowned specialist on cell death in cancer and in skin, and Professor of Molecular Biology at the University of Rome, were able to visulaise how the increased expression of miRs resulted in the loss of proteins that cause ageing. “Ageing is a very complex process with distinct systemic and skin effects – such as on pigment, elasticity, hydration and the very structure of the skin,” said Melino. “In our research, we are seeking, first, to understand the effects of ageing and, second, to determine how we might alter this process.”

Since their discovery in 1993, hundreds of miRs have been identified in the human genome and scientists from a wide range of disciplines are seeking to determine which miRs regulate which proteins. Using genome-wide miR profiling the researchers “identified miRs that are necessary and sufficient to induce ageing of the skin”, according to Professor Melino.

The teams then developed a laboratory model of how the skin ages and identified protein targets that that may be modulated to prevent the natural ageing process in the cells. “With our in vitro skin model, we could visualise how, as miRs expression intensifies, it caused a loss of these proteins,” explained Chanel’s Dr Gaëlle Saintigny. These results were subsequently validated in vivo.

“These findings are exciting, because once you have identified the miRs involved, this information may be used to screen compounds that could slowdown the ageing of the skin,” explained Professor Melino. “The next step will be to think about how to modulate ageing – and this research should produce new applications over the next few years.”

According to Dr Saintigny, one of the interesting outcomes of this project is the confirmation that nothing is predetermined by a person’s genes alone. The teams’ findings are said to highlight the complex interaction of genetic background, environmental factors and lifestyle choices. While each individual is unique in terms of his or her DNA, many other factors come into play in the growth and ageing of the skin. “Our ongoing miRs research collaboration confirms the singularity of each person’s skin,” she said. “At Chanel R&T, we are convinced that we’ve entered a new, rich era of research, where there is much to discover and explore.”

You may also like