Stem Cells as a Target for the Delivery of Active Molecules to Skin by Topical Administration

Abstract

Cutaneous stem cells, gained great attention in the field of regenerative medicine as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of skin and hair disorders and various types of skin cancers. Cutaneous stem cells play a key role in several processes like the renovation of skin structures in the condition of homeostasis and after injuries, the hair follicle growth and the reconstruction and production of melanocytes. Thus, gaining effective access to skin stem cells for therapeutic interventions that often involve active molecules with non-favorable characteristics for skin absorption is a valuable achievement. The topical route with high patient compliance and several other benefits is gaining increasing importance in basic and applied research. However, the major obstacle for topical drug delivery is the effective barrier provided by skin against penetration of the vast majority of exogenous molecules. The research in this field is focusing more and more on new strategies to circumvent and pass this barrier effectively. In this article the existing approaches are discussed considering physical and chemical methods along with utilization of novel drug delivery systems to enhance penetration of drugs to the skin. In particular, attention has been paid to studies finalized to the delivery of molecules to cutaneous stem cells with the aim of transferring signals, modulating their metabolic program, inducing physiological modifications and stem cell gene therapy.

Effect of Apple (Malus domestica) Stem Cells on UVB-Induced Damage Skin with Anti-Inflammatory Properties: An In Vivo Study

“…Moreover, betamethasone cream (500 µg with a concentration of 1 mg/g) was administered on the dorsal areas of rats in the betamethasone group once daily for 7 days. Pilot studies of our research group and previous studies showed that the amount of topical administration was following dose-response [17,18]. All of the treatments were started after 7 days of UVB irradiation.…”

The most promising microneedle device: present and future of hyaluronic acid microneedle patch

“…However, the skin stratum corneum (SC), which is about 10–20 μm thick (Al-Zahrani et al., 2012 ; Teo et al., 2006 ), has special components and a dense structure, hence is the largest barrier to transdermal drug permeation (Brown and Langer, 1988 ). In the past decades, with the continuous improvement and refinement of science and technology, various chemical and physical methods ( Table 1 ) have been explored to improve skin permeability or to provide a driving force for drugs to achieve the goal of enhancing drug transportation in the skin (Ahmadi-Ashtiani et al., 2020 ; Dragicevic and Maibach, 2018 ).…”