Clinical Efficacies of Adiponectin-Stimulating Peptide on UV-Induced Skin Damages

Several studies have suggested that adiponectin is an anti-aging molecule based on its potential involvement of adipose tissue in skin aging. In this study, we investigated the anti-photoaging efficacies of an adiponectin expression-stimulating peptide derivative in in vitro and ex vivo human skin explant models. A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study was performed to confirm the clinical efficacies. UV-induced decrease in adiponectin expression and increase in inflammatory cytokines were prevented by the test peptide. Mitigation of cellular senescence and senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) expression has also been observed in ex vivo human skin. Restoration of filaggrin, loricrin, and claudin-1 protein expression was observed. A clinical study further confirmed that the restoration of UVB-induced skin damage, represented by increased skin redness and trans-epidermal water loss, was accelerated by the use of test peptide-containing products. These results suggest that targeting adiponectin may be a plausible strategy for the development of anti-aging ingredients.