Hyaluronate fragments reverse skin atrophy by a CD44-dependent mechanism.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Skin atrophy is a common manifestation of aging and is frequently accompanied by ulceration and delayed wound healing. With an increasingly aging patient population, management of skin atrophy is becoming a major challenge in the clinic, particularly in light of the fact that there are no effective therapeutic options at present.

Methods and findings

Atrophic skin displays a decreased hyaluronate (HA) content and expression of the major cell-surface hyaluronate receptor, CD44. In an effort to develop a therapeutic strategy for skin atrophy, we addressed the effect of topical administration of defined-size HA fragments (HAF) on skin trophicity. Treatment of primary keratinocyte cultures with intermediate-size HAF (HAFi; 50,000-400,000 Da) but not with small-size HA

SUBMITTER: Kaya G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1702558 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature