Echinacoside-Zinc Nanomaterial Inhibits Skin Glycation by Suppressing the Transcriptional Activation of the Receptor for Advanced Glycation End-Products

Glycation is a nonenzymatically catalyzed spontaneous reaction that eventually leads to the formation of advanced glycation end-products (AGEs), which can bind to the receptor for AGEs (RAGE). The consequences are oxidative damage, an inflammatory response, and aging. In this work, we synthesized echinacoside-zinc coordination polymers (ECH-Zn) by using the coordination interaction between the catechol group of ECH and zinc ions. ECH-Zn was further wrapped with hyaluronic acid/poly (ethylenimine) (HA-PEI) to obtain spherical nanoparticle polymers of HA-PEI-coated ECH-Zn (PPZn). PPZn can enhance the uptake and utilization of ECH-Zn and also have a better antiglycation effect in the skin under the effect of promoting transdermal absorption of HA-PEI. Mechanistic studies at the cellular level showed that MDM2 can interact with STAT2 to form a transcriptional complex and thus promote RAGE transcriptional activation. In vitro and in vivo studies revealed that PPZn can decrease the expression and inhibit the interaction of the MDM2/STAT2 complex. It inhibited the function of the MDM2/STAT2 complex and suppressed the transcriptional activation of RAGE, thereby exerting antiglycation effects. In conclusion, this work provides a nanomaterial and elucidated a mechanism of anti-skin glycation.