Red Light Interferes in UVA‐Induced Photoaging of Human Skin Fibroblast Cells

Abstract The possible regulation mechanism of red light was determined to discover how to retard UVA ‐induced skin photoaging. Human skin fibroblasts were cultured and irradiated with different doses of UVA , thus creating a photoaging model. Fibroblasts were also exposed to a subtoxic dose of UVA combined with a red light‐emitting diode ( LED ) for five continuous days. Three groups were examined: control, UVA and UVA plus red light. Cumulative exposure doses of UVA were 25 J cm −2 , and the total doses of red light were 0.18 J cm −2 . Various indicators were measured before and after irradiation, including cell morphology, viability, β ‐galactosidase staining, apoptosis, cycle phase, the length of telomeres and the protein levels of photoaging‐related genes. Red light irradiation retarded the cumulative low‐dose UVA irradiation‐induced skin photoaging, decreased the expression of senescence‐associated β ‐galactosidase, upregulated SIRT 1 expression, decreased matrix metalloproteinase MMP ‐1 and the acetylation of p53 expression, reduced the horizon of cell apoptosis and enhanced cell viability. Furthermore, the telomeres in UVA ‐treated cells were shortened compared to those of cells in the red light groups. These results suggest that red light plays a key role in the antiphotoaging of human skin fibroblasts by acting on different signaling transduction pathways.