Pulsed Heat Shocks to Enhance Collagen Production of Human Dermal Fibroblasts in Ex-Vivo Skin

Well-known characteristics of aging skin are the development of fine lines and wrinkles, but also changes in skin tone, skin texture, thickness and moisture content [1, 2]. Rejuvenation of the skin aims at reversing the signs of aging and can be established in the epidermis as well as in the dermis. Aged dermis for that matter has a degenerated collagen matrix. To regenerate this matrix, fibroblasts need to be stimulated into synthesizing new collagen. Among the rejuvenation methods used the non-ablative techniques are gaining popularity. These methods produce dermal remodeling without obvious epidermal injury using a thermal approach. The generation of heat would cause collagen injury and contraction followed by collagen synthesis [2, 3]. However, little research on physiological evidence can be found in contemporary literature. In this study, the effects of heat shocks of different temperatures on the expression of procollagen type 1and type 3 of human dermal fibroblasts in ex-vivo skin are investigated.