Abstract
BACKGROUND: UVB irradiation can cause acute damage such as sunburn, or photoaging and melanoma, all of which are major health threats. OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to investigate the mechanism of skin photoaging induced by UVB radiation in mice through the analysis of the differential expression of miRNAs. METHODS: A UVB irradiation photoaging model was constructed. HE and Masson special stains were used to examine the modifications in the epidermis and dermis of mice. The miRNA expression profiles of the mouse skin model exposed to UVB radiation and the normal skin of mice were analyzed using miRNA-sequence analysis. GO and Pathway analysis were employed for the prediction of miRNA targets. RESULTS: A total of 23 miRNAs were evaluated for significantly different expressions in comparison to normal skin. Among them, 7 miRNAs were up-regulated and 16 were down-regulated in the skin with photoaging of mice exposed to UVB irradiation. The differential expression of miRNA is related to a variety of signal transduction pathways, among which mmu-miR-195a-5p and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signal pathways are crucial. There was a significant differential expression of miRNA in the skin of normal mice in comparison with the skin with photoaging induced by UVB irradiation. STUDY LIMITATIONS: Due to time and energy constraints, the specific protein level verification, MAPK pathway exploration, and miR-195a-5p downstream molecular mechanism need to be further studied in the future. CONCLUSIONS: UVB-induced skin photoaging can be diagnosed and treated using miRNA.