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The Pathobiology of Skin Aging: New Insights into an Old Dilemma
Eleanor Russell-Goldman1, George F Murphy1
1Program in Dermatopathology, Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
Abstract:
Long considered both physiologic and inevitable, skin aging is a degenerative phenomenon whereby both intrinsic and environmental factors conspire to produce an authentic disease. The consequences of this disorder are many and varied, ranging from atrophy and fragility to defective repair to deficient immunity and vulnerability to certain infections. The pathobiologic basis for skin aging remains poorly understood. At a cellular level, stem cell dysfunction and attrition appear to be key events, and both genetic and epigenetic factors are involved in a complex interplay that over time results in deterioration of our main protective interface with the external environment. Past and current understanding of the cellular and molecular intricacies of skin aging provide a foundation for future approaches designed to thwart the aging phenotype. Herein, the authors provide a review of current insights into skin aging, including the mechanisms of skin aging, the role of stem cells in skin aging and the implications of skin aging for the microbiome and for the development of cancer. Conquest of the oft overlooked disease of skin aging should have broad implications that transcend the integument and inform novel approaches to retarding aging and age-related dysfunction in those internal organs that youthful skin was designed to envelop and safeguard.
Insights
Skin aging, a complex disease influenced by intrinsic and environmental factors, involves stem cell dysfunction and genetic changes. Understanding these mechanisms is key to developing interventions for aging skin and related health issues.
Area of Science:
- Dermatology and Gerontology
- Cellular and Molecular Biology
Background:
- Skin aging is often viewed as a natural process but is increasingly recognized as a complex disease.
- It results from intrinsic and environmental factors leading to atrophy, fragility, impaired repair, and immune deficiency.
- The underlying pathobiology, particularly at the cellular level involving stem cells, remains incompletely understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review current insights into the mechanisms of skin aging.
- To explore the role of stem cells in the aging process.
- To discuss the implications of skin aging for the skin microbiome and cancer development.
Main Methods:
- This study is a review of existing literature on skin aging.
- It synthesizes current understanding of cellular and molecular mechanisms.
- It examines the interplay of genetic and epigenetic factors.
Main Results:
- Key events in skin aging include stem cell dysfunction and attrition.
- Genetic and epigenetic factors play a complex role in the deterioration of skin.
- Skin aging impacts the microbiome and increases vulnerability to infections and cancer.
Conclusions:
- A deeper understanding of skin aging's cellular and molecular intricacies is crucial for developing strategies to counteract the aging phenotype.
- Addressing skin aging as a disease could have far-reaching implications for retarding aging and age-related dysfunction in internal organs.
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