Natural cosmetic products have recently re-emerged as a novel tool able to counteract skin aging and skin related damages. In addition, recently achieved progress in nanomedicine opens a novel approach yielding from combination of modern nanotechnology with traditional treatment for innovative pharmacotherapeutics. In the present study, we investigated the antiaging effect of a pretreatment with Myrtus communis natural extract combined with a polycaprolactone nanofibrous scaffold (NanoPCL-M) on skin cell populations exposed to UV. We set up a novel model of skin on a bioreactor mimicking a crosstalk between keratinocytes, stem cells and fibroblasts, as in skin. Beta-galactosidase assay, indicating the amount of senescent cells, and viability assay, revealed that fibroblasts and stem cells pretreated with NanoPCL-M and then exposed to UV are superimposable to control cells, untreated and unexposed to UV damage. On the other hand, cells only exposed to UV stress, without NanoPCL-M pretreatment, exhibited a significantly higher yield of senescent elements. Keratinocyte-based 3D structures appeared disjointed after UV-stress, as compared to NanoPCL-M pretreated samples. Gene expression analysis performed on different senescence associated genes, revealed the activation of a molecular program of rejuvenation in stem cells pretreated with NanoPCL-M and then exposed to UV. Altogether, our results highlight a future translational application of NanoPCL-M to prevent skin aging.

Center for Developmental Biology and Reprogramming CEDEBIOR Department of Biomedical Sciences University of Sassari Viale San Pietro 43 B 07100 Sassari Italy

Department Medical Sciences Section Experimental Medicine University of Ferrara 44121 Ferrara Italy

Department of Agriculture University of Sassari Via De Nicola 9 07100 Sassari Italy

Department of Biomedical Sciences University of Sassari Viale San Pietro 43 B 07100 Sassari Italy

Department of Life and Environmental Sciences University of Cagliari Via Ospedale 72 09124 Cagliari Italy

Department of Medical Surgical and Experimental Sciences University of Sassari 07100 Sassari Italy

Institute of Biophysics 2nd Faculty of Medicine Charles University 5 Uvalu 84 150 06 Prague 5 Czech Republic

Istituto di Ricerca Genetica e Biomedica Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche 09042 Monserrato Italy

Istituto di Scienze delle Produzioni Alimentari Traversa la Crucca 3 07100 Sassari Italy

Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Stem Cell Engineering Eldor Lab National Institute of Biostructures and Biosystems Innovation Accelerator CNR Via Piero Gobetti 101 40129 Bologna Italy

UCEEB Czech Technical University Trinecka 1024 273 43 Bustehrad Czech Republic

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Cells. 2024 Jul 31;13(15):1285. doi: 10.3390/cells13151285. PubMed

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