In elderly Caucasian women, younger facial perceived age correlates with better forearm skin microcirculation...

Visual and molecular changes occurring upon aging are rather well characterized. Still, aging signs show great significant inter-individual variations, and little is known concerning the link between perceived age and cutaneous microcirculation.

To investigate this point, we recruited Caucasian women in their mid-50's to mid-70's and subsampled women looking older or younger than their age. We studied their facial skin color, as well as their microvascular reactivity to local heating assessed in the forearm skin. We also used skin biopsies from some of these women for gene expression or immunohistochemical analysis.

Clinical and instrumental analysis of skin color revealed that subjects who look 5 years younger differ only by a higher glowing complexion. Our most striking result is that subjects looking 5 years younger than their age present a higher microcirculation reactivity in forearm skin. Transcriptome comparison of skin samples from women looking older or younger than their age revealed 123 annotated transcripts differentially expressed, among which MYL9 relates to microcirculation. MYL9 is downregulated in the group of women looking younger than their real age. Microscopy shows that the labeling of MYL9 and CD31 are altered and heterogeneous with age, as is the morphology of microvessels.

Therefore, assessing generalized vascular reactivity in non-photo-exposed skin to focus on the intrinsic aging allows subtle discrimination of perceived age within elderly healthy subjects.