RETRACTED: Blue Light Induces Down-Regulation of Aquaporin 1, 3, and 9 in Human Keratinocytes

Abstract

The development in digital screen technology has exponentially increased in the last decades, and many of today’s electronic devices use light-emitting diode (LED) technology producing very strong blue light (BL) waves. Long-term exposure at LED-BL seems to have an implication in the dehydration of the epidermis, in the alterations of shape and number of the keratinocytes, and in the aging of the skin. Aquaporins (AQPs) are water membrane channels that permeate both water and glycerol and play an important role in the hydration of epidermis, as well as in proliferation and differentiation of keratinocytes. Thus, we have hypothesized that AQPs could be involved in the aging of the skin exposed to LED-BL. Therefore, we have examined the expression of AQPs in human keratinocytes exposed to LED-BL at dose of 45 J/cm2, used as an in vitro model to produce the general features of photo aging of the skin. The aim was to verify if LED-BL induces changes of the basal levels of AQPs. The keratinocytes exposure to LED-BL produced an increase of reactive oxygen species (ROS), an activation of 8-hydroxy-2’-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), an alteration of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), and a down-regulation of AQP1, 3 and 9. These findings are preliminary evidences that may be used as starting points for further investigations about the mechanistic involvement of AQP1, 3, and 9 in LED-BL-induced skin aging.

Human Aquaporins: Functional Diversity and Potential Roles in Infectious and Non-infectious Diseases

“…Although it is not yet confirmed, an inflammatory skin disease, erythema toxicum neonatorum characterized with papules or pustules only in infants is supposed to be associated with increased levels of AQP1 in epidermis, dermis, and blood vessels ( Marchini et al, 2003 ; Patel et al, 2017 ). A recent study with keratinocyte cell lines has hypothesized that down-regulation of AQP1, 3, and 9 might be concomitant with the aging of the skin induced by long-term exposure to blue light ( Avola et al, 2018 ).…”

Individual and combined effects of the infrared, visible, and ultraviolet light components of solar radiation on damage biomarkers in human skin cells

“…The reported effects of IR can be variable depending on the dose and pattern of IR application . Similarly, the skin's response to Vis is less well documented although Vis‐induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and skin tanning have been reported . As solar radiation is polychromatic, the interaction of all three individual components (UV, IR, and Vis) as well as the effects of combinations of the components warrants further investigation.…”

Blue light induces DNA damage in normal human skin keratinocytes

“…7 Concerning cutaneous exposure, it has been shown that blue wavelengths penetrate into the skin 10 and induce both ROS production and cell death. 9,11,12 Recent studies have shown that blue light can also induce DNA damage in keratinocytes 13,14 but the identification of the DNA lesions has been poorly studied.…”