A combination of three antioxidants decreases the impact of rural particulate pollution in Normal human keratinocytes

OBJECTIVE

It is well established that exposure of human skin to airborne pollution, particularly in the form of particulate matter sized 2.5 μm (PM2.5 ), is associated with oxidative stress, DNA damage and inflammation, leading to premature signs of skin aging. Because much of the damage results from oxidative stress, we examined the effects of a topical composition containing three antioxidants in an in vitro model system to assess the potential for amelioration of premature aging. The use of multiple antioxidants was of interest based on the typical composition of therapeutic skincare products. It is important to determine the efficacy of multiple antioxidants together and develop a short-term assay for larger scale efficacy testing.

METHODS

Normal human epidermal keratinocytes were exposed to a rural-derived source of PM2.5 in the presence and absence of an antioxidant mixture of resveratrol, niacinamide and GHK peptide. Endpoints related to inflammation, premature aging and carcinogenicity were monitored after 5 h of exposure and included IL-6, CXCL10, MMP-1 and NRF2. Differentially expressed genes were monitored by RNA-seq.

RESULTS

Pre-treatment of keratinocytes with the antioxidant preparation in the absence of PM2.5 reduced baseline levels of MMP-1, IL-6 and CYP1A1 and reduced PM2.5 -induced increases in all four endpoints, MMP-1, IL-6, CXCL10 and CYP1A1. Antioxidants significantly increased NRF2 protein in the presence of PM2.5 , indicating a protective response. RNA-seq interrogation of antioxidant-treated cells further showed increased expression of NRF2 inducible genes. The expression of CYP1A1 and genes related to aryl hydrocarbon activation were induced by PM2.5 and suppressed by antioxidants.

CONCLUSIONS

Specific signalling pathways known to be correlated with skin inflammation and aging were examined based on their suitability for use in efficacy testing for the prevention of skin damage due to ambient hydrocarbon pollution. Endpoints examined after only 5 h of exposure provide a useful method amenable to high through-put screening. The results obtained reinforce the concept that a multiple antioxidant preparation, topically applied, may reduce pro-inflammatory signalling and cellular damage and thereby reduce premature skin aging due to exposure to rural-derived airborne pollution.

Complete set of operational measures for the characterization of three-qubit entanglement

We characterize the entanglement contained in a pure three-qubit state via operational entanglement measures. To this end, we derive a new decomposition for arbitrary three-qubit states which is characterized by five parameters (up to local unitary operations). We show that these parameters are uniquely determined by bipartite entanglement measures. These quantities measure the entanglement required to generate the state following a particular preparation procedure and have a clear physical meaning. Moreover, we show that the classification of states obtained in this way is strongly related to the one obtained when considering general local operations and classical communication.

Inducible, brain region-specific expression of a dominant negative mutant of c-Jun in transgenic mice decreases sensitivity to cocaine

Administration of cocaine induces the Fos family of transcription factors in the striatum, including the nucleus accumbens (NAc), a brain region important for the rewarding effects of addictive drugs. Several Fos proteins are induced acutely by cocaine, with stable isoforms of DeltaFosB predominating after chronic drug administration. However, it has been difficult to study the functional consequences of these Fos responses in vivo. Fos proteins heterodimerize with members of the Jun family to form active AP-1 transcription factor complexes. In the present study, we took advantage of this property and generated transgenic mice, using the tetracycline gene regulation system, that support the inducible, brain region-specific expression of a dominant negative mutant form of c-Jun (Deltac-Jun), which can antagonize the actions of Fos proteins. Expression of Deltac-Jun in the striatum and certain other brain regions of adult mice decreases their development of cocaine-induced conditioned place preference, suggesting reduced sensitivity to the rewarding effects of cocaine. In contrast, Deltac-Jun expression had no effect on cocaine-induced locomotor activity or sensitization. However, expression of Deltac-Jun in adult mice blocked the ability of chronic cocaine administration to induce three known targets for AP-1 in the NAc: the AMPA glutamate receptor subunit GluR2, the cyclin-dependent protein kinase Cdk5, and the transcription factor nuclear factor-kappaB (NFkappaB), without affecting several other proteins examined for comparison. Taken together, these results provide further support for an important role of AP-1-mediated transcription in some of the behavioral and molecular mechanisms underlying cocaine addiction.

Detection, treatment and follow-up of hypertension in a community sample of 55-year-old men

In connection with a population study including 703 randomly selected 55-year-old men, 20 men with the highest blood pressure were selected for a careful follow-up and treatment for 1 year. Controls without hypertension were randomly selected from the remainder of the same population. Electrocardiogram at rest and in connection with an exercise test, changes in fundus oculi, orthostatic tests, peripheral arterial blood flow, chemical analyses and other variables were recorded on three occasions during the observation year. Drug treatment was standardized. Basic treatment was induced with polythiazide, which normalized the blood pressure in the majority of the hypertensive cases. The most striking findings in the hypertensive group before treatment were, besides the high blood pressure at rest, high blood pressure during exercise, an increased peripheral blood-flow through the calves, and an increased heart rate. During treatment, the blood pressure were selected for a careful follow-up and blood-flow were almost "normalized"; the heart-rate remained elevated. The investigation shows that it is quite easy to achieve adequate reduction of blood pressure in hypertension among middle-aged men, as found in the "real world" outside the hospital. The main problem today is not to normalize the blood pressure but rather to detect hypertension and to maintain the therapy for several years. Hypertension is considered to be the cardiovascular risk factor that is probably most amenable to preventive approaches to public health.