Achatina fulica Mucus Ameliorates UVB-induced Human Dermal Fibroblast Photoaging via the TGF-β/Smad Pathway

Christiana Tri Nuryana (Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Jl. Farmako, Sekip Utara, Yogyakarta 55281)
Tiara Puspita Agustin (Undergraduate Program of Medicine and Health, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Jl. Farmako, Sekip Utara, Yogyakarta 55281)
Sofia Mubarika Haryana (Department of Histology and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Jl. Farmako, Sekip Utara, Yogyakarta 55281)
Yohanes Widodo Wirohadidjojo (Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Jl. Farmako, Sekip Utara, Yogyakarta 55281)
Nur Arfian (Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Jl. Farmako, Sekip Utara, Yogyakarta 55281)

The Indonesian Biomedical Journal
Vol 15, No 6 (2023)

BACKGROUND: Ultraviolet B (UVB) induces skin photoaging by reducing collagen deposition via impairment of the TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway. Achatina fulica mucus (AFM) is a native medicine acting as vehicle of anti-aging ingredients. The present investigation examined the effect of AFM on UVB-induced fibroblast photoaging by assessing TGF-β, Smad3, and Smad7 mRNA expressions.METHODS: AFM was extracted from A. fulica using electrical shock and freeze-dried into a powder. Normal human dermal fibroblast (NHDF) cultures were irradiated with/without 100 mJ/cm2 UVB and treated with/without 10% platelet-rich plasma or different concentrations of AFM: 3.9 μg/mL in AF3 group; 15.625 μg/mL in AF15 group, and 62.5 μg/mL in AF62 group. The mRNA expressions of TGF-β, Smad3, and Smad7 in NHDF were evaluated by quantitative polymerase chain reaction.RESULTS: TGF-β mRNA expressions in the AF3 (0.85±0.01), AF15 (0.94±0.02) and AF62 (1.64±0.03) groups were significantly higher (p<0.05) compared with that in the UVB group (0.55±0.04). Moreover, Smad3 expressions in the AF3 (1.42±0.25), AF15 (1.89±0.13), and AF62 (2.50±0.31) groups were significantly higher (p<0.05) compared with that in the UVB group (0.57±0.08). Furthermore, Smad7 expressions in the AF3 (1.57±0.18), AF15 (0.87±0.03), and AF62 (0.25±0.09) groups were significantly lower (p<0.05) than that in the UVB group (2.57±0.06).CONCLUSION: AFM ameliorates UVB-induced fibroblast photoaging by upregulating the TGF-β/Smad3 expressions and downregulating Smad7 expression.KEYWORDS: Achatina fulica, TGF-β, Smad, collagen, UVB, fibroblast, photoaging