1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D(3) prevents the conversion of adipose tissue into fibrous tissue in skin exposed to chronic UV irradiation.

The hormonally active form of vitamin D (1,25(OH)2D3) is known to be a physiological regulator of the proliferation and differentiation of skin cells including keratinocytes, fibroblasts, and adipocytes. In the present study, the efficacy of 1,25(OH)2D3 on the conversion of adipose tissue to fibrous tissue in photodamaged skin was investigated in a murine animal model. Groups of hairless mice were exposed to solar-simulating UV irradiation (lambdamax, 352 nm; UV distribution: 300-310 nm, 0.9%; 310-320 nm, 2.0%; 320-420 nm, 97.1%) for 20 weeks at a dose of 10.8 J/cm2 five times weekly on weekdays. At the end of 20 weeks irradiation, wrinkling in the dorsal skin was induced. The histological and biochemical studies indicated that UV irradiation caused a disappearance of adipocytes and concomitant accumulation of the extracellular matrix components (fibrosis), including collagen, hyaluronan, and chondroitin/dermatan, which are synthesized by fibroblasts. Application of 1,25(OH)2D3 on the dorsal skin prior to UV irradiation dramatically prevented both the disappearance of adipocytes and the accumulation of extracellular matrix components in the lower dermis, resulting in antiwrinkling. These findings indicate that 1,25(OH)2D3 prevents the UV-induced abnormal differentiation and proliferation of adipocytes and fibroblasts, which arise from a common progenitor, mesenchymal cells. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.