Light‐induced skin damage leads to cellular or molecular dysfunction, thus potentially causing different skin issues (e.g., skin aging, seborrheic dermatitis and pigmentation). Blue light, a potent visible light that was previously adopted for promoting skin regeneration, draws considerable concerns in the past several years due to their potential damage to the skins. In this work, we investigated the roles of blue light in skewing the functions of sebocytes – the major cells that compose the sebaceous gland – an important “active” neuro‐immuno‐endocrine organ in maintaining skin functions. For therapeutically purposes, we employed cannabidiol (CBD), a clinically used non‐psychotropic phytocannabinoid, to revert blue‐light‐induced sebocytes dysfunctions, including intracellular lipid secretion, inflammation, reactive oxygen species (ROS) secretion, and cell cycles. At the cellular level, CBD reduced the blue‐light‐enhanced intracellular lipid secretion, decreased inflammation, down‐regulated intracellular ROS production, and restored the skewed cell cycles in the sebocytes. In the intracellular mechanism, CBD inhibited the blue‐light‐induced pro‐apoptotic activity through rebalance BCL‐2/BAX expression and down‐regulated the NF‐κB p65 pathway. Collectively, this study demonstrated that CBD was a potent therapeutic agent for maintaining normal sebocytes functions, thus is a promising drug for skincare purposes, especially considering its effectiveness in restoring the twisted sebocytes behaviors.
The sebaceous gland is a neuro‐immuno‐endocrine organ responsible for maintaining regular skin functions. Overdose exposure of UV and visible light (e.g., blue light) can cause sebocyte gland function disorders or even different diseases (e.g., chronic actinic dermatitis). Studying the mechanism of light‐induced damage in sebaceous glands has been challenging, since ex vivo culture of sebaceous glands is difficult due to its short life in culture medium. To address this issue, a versatile 3D artificial sebocyte gland model was established using the inertial focusing effect for studying the impact of light damage and screening potential drugs. The artificial sebocyte gland exhibited specific biological function and structure similar to natural sebocyte glands. Using this artificial sebocyte gland, the interactions between the artificial organ and blue light or UV were studied. The results indicated that UV and blue light upregulated lipid secretion and downregulated cell viability within the sebocytes. Light damage intensified oxidative stress and promoted pro‐inflammation cytokines (i.e., IL‐1β and TNF‐α) production in the artificial sebocytes. Additionally, the therapeutic effects of cannabidiol, a clinically tested drug for treating acne, was also indicated on restoring light damaged sebaceous gland functions. These results indicate that the 3D artificial sebocyte gland could be a versatile, fast, and low‐cost platform for skincare studies or drug screening.
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