Structural changes in dermal collagen and oxidative stress levels in the skin of Japanese overweight males

Abstract

We detected an increase in oxidative stress levels and a decrease in the density of dermal collagen at the same site on the thigh, abdomen, and upper arm of Japanese overweight males. These findings suggest the fragility of the dermis of Japanese overweight males, which might have been caused by the accumulation of subcutaneous adipose tissue.

Development of an improved method for quantitative analysis of skin blotting: increasing reliability and applicability for skin assessment

“…This method may strengthen the quantitative performance of skin blotting, which may expand the applicability of this method as a skin assessment tool in broader fields, such as nursing and cosmetology. reported that the skin of obese people is continuously exposed to oxidative stress, collagen-degrading enzymes [15], and inflammatory cytokines, e.g., tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), all of which may be linked to skin weakness [16][17][18][19][20]. In another instance, skin maceration caused by incontinence leads to incontinence-associated dermatitis, which can be prevented by assessing the reduction of skin barrier function using a simple skin assessment tool [21].…”

“…After the completion of a verbal questionnaire about age and sex and the measurement of height and body weight (for a BMI calculation), a nitrocellulose membrane (1 cm × 1 cm; Bio-Rad Laboratories, CA, USA) prewetted with 10 µl saline was attached to the skin at 2 cm left to the navel, where the differences in dermal structure and level of oxidative stress were observed [20], for 10 min. The membranes were stored at 4°C until further analyses.…”

“…It has been reported that skin frailty is closely related to the degree of oxidative stress [16,19] and skin inflammation with cytokine secretion [11,18,28,33], and that such deteriorations were caused by obesity [16,20,34] and aging [18], both of which are now increasing worldwide. Considering these situations, it will be of importance to assess skin properties on a molecular biological basis (i.e., cytokines and gene expression) before the skin shows apparent symptoms, such as delayed wound healing [35,36], skin tears [18,37], or pressure ulcers [38].…”

“…For example, a mouse model for obesity has shown severe difficulties, involving wound healing [10,11] and the same has been equally true for human subjects [12]; obese subjects may have a higher prevalence of pressure ulcers [13] and a number of studies have reported the association between obesity and psoriasis [14]. Furthermore, it has been reported that the skin of obese people is continuously exposed to oxidative stress, collagen-degrading enzymes [15], and inflammatory cytokines, e.g., tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), all of which may be linked to skin weakness [16][17][18][19][20]. In another instance, skin maceration caused by incontinence leads to incontinence-associated dermatitis, which can be prevented by assessing the reduction of skin barrier function using a simple skin assessment tool [21].…”

“…Under these circumstances, several types of non-invasive skin assessment tools have been thus developed using laser analysis [22], skin fluorescence [23,24], trans-epidermal water loss [25], confocal microscopy [23], and ultrasonography [19,20]. However, all these F o r P e e r R e v i e w 3 factor-β, and matrix metalloproteinase-2) in the dermis and epidermis can leak by diffusion through the epidermis and follicles when the skin is slightly macerated [18,27].…”