Anti-Aging Potentials of Methylene Blue for Human Skin Longevity

Abstract

Oxidative stress is the major cause of skin aging that includes wrinkles, pigmentation, and weakened wound healing ability. Application of antioxidants in skin care is well accepted as an effective approach to delay the skin aging process. Methylene blue (MB), a traditional mitochondrial-targeting antioxidant, showed a potent ROS scavenging efficacy in cultured human skin fibroblasts derived from healthy donors and from patients with progeria, a genetic premature aging disease. In comparison with other widely used general and mitochondrial-targeting antioxidants, we found that MB was more effective in stimulating skin fibroblast proliferation and delaying cellular senescence. The skin irritation test, performed on an in vitro reconstructed 3D human skin model, indicated that MB was safe for long-term use, and did not cause irritation even at high concentrations. Application of MB to this 3D skin model further demonstrated that MB improved skin viability, promoted wound healing and increased skin hydration and dermis thickness. Gene expression analysis showed that MB treatment altered the expression of a subset of extracellular matrix proteins in the skin, including upregulation of elastin and collagen 2A1, two essential components for healthy skin. Altogether, our study suggests that MB has a great potential for skin care.

Farnesyltransferase inhibitor and rapamycin correct aberrant genome organisation and decrease DNA damage respectively, in Hutchinson–Gilford progeria syndrome fibroblasts

“…Metformin treatment of HGPS cells results in the down-regulation of progerin expression (Egesipe et al 2016 ; Park and Shin 2017 ). Methylene blue is another anti-oxidant and potential anti-ageing product that seems to have great potential in treating HGPS (Xiong et al 2017 ). Other successful compounds that reduce reactive oxygen species in HGPS include the rho-associated protein kinase (ROCK) inhibitor—Y-27632, reducing DNA damage, improving nuclear shape and restoring mitochondrial function (Kang et al 2017 ).…”

Methylene blue-loaded niosome: preparation, physicochemical characterization, and in vivo wound healing assessment

“…Because of its low redox potential, MB molecule can switch between its reduced and oxidized forms (MB and MBH 2 respectively), which facilitates mitochondrial electron transport and results in reduced ROS production [6]. Recent studies have shown that MB increases the longevity of skin fibroblasts and improves cell proliferation; thus, it could promote wound healing procedure [7]. Rosique et al studied burn wound healing in an animal model and showed that treatment with MB reduces the progression of burn and accelerates skin recovery [8] but its efficacy in the surgical wound healing process has not yet been studied.…”

Methylene Blue Mitigates Acute Neuroinflammation after Spinal Cord Injury through Inhibiting NLRP3 Inflammasome Activation in Microglia

“…It has been shown that methylene blue is a potent reactive oxygen species (ROS) inhibitor (Poteet et al, 2012 ; Xiong et al, 2017 ), and ROS is important for inducing inflammasome activation in multiple cell types (Zhou et al, 2011 ; Abais et al, 2015 ; Jo et al, 2016 ). To determine whether the effect of methylene blue on inflammasome activation was associated with ROS production, intracellular ROS was analyzed by H2DCFDA staining of microglia.…”