Search

To determine the time dependence of sunscreen protection against chronic photodamage in hairless mice, the time was varied (0-8 h) between topical sunscreen treatment and UVB radiation exposure. Sunscreen products with labeled sun protection factor (SPF) values of 2, 4 and 8 were evaluated; these values were verified in a guinea pig model for SPF determinations. When applied immediately prior to UVB radiation exposure, these sunscreen products were very effective in prevention of skin wrinkling and tumor formation. Onset of photodamage was delayed, the delay being greater with higher SPF values. However, the sunscreen actives were rapidly lost from the skin surface, and their protective effect diminished strikingly as the time between treatment and irradiation increased. For daily protection against chronic photodamage, this suggests a need for photoprotectants with greater substantivity to achieve a high level of protection throughout the day.

Albino hairless mice (SkH:HR-1) exposed chronically to suberythemal doses of ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation display visible skin wrinkling and tumors. Topical treatment of mice with solutions of conjugated dienes (2,4-hexadien-1-ol and derivatives of it) prior to each UVB radiation exposure reduces significantly the severity of these visible alterations. Chronic suberythemal doses of ultraviolet A radiation induce skin sagging, a distinctly different visible skin alteration. The severity of skin sagging is not reduced by topical application of the conjugated dienes tested here.

The work reported here indicates that protein and calcium have roles in stratum corneum cell cohesion. A zwitterionic surfactant, 6-octadecyldimethyl ammoniohexanoate (C18AH), was found to completely disaggregate pig and human stratum corneum into intact, individual cells. This method of disaggregation provided a tool to determine the role of tissue components in cell cohesion. The C18AH disaggregation of pig and human stratum corneum was accelerated by proteolytic enzyme and ethylenediaminetetraacetate (EDTA). The C18AH disaggregation could be blocked by pretreatment of the stratum corneum with the serine-type proteolytic enzyme inhibitor phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride (PMSF). The blockage could be overcome by addition of proteolytic enzyme or divalent metal ion chelator. These and other data indicate the importance of protein and calcium in stratum corneum cell cohesion.