Posted on 07/02/2025 4:16:46 PM PDT by ConservativeMind
The skin acts as the body's defense against external threats. However, as we age, the epidermis—the outermost layer of skin—gradually becomes thinner and loses its protective strength.
To combat aging's impact on skin, numerous studies have emphasized the benefits of vitamin C (VC).
Now, researchers have discovered VC helps thicken skin by directly activating genes that control skin cell growth and development. Their findings suggest that VC may restore skin function by reactivating genes essential for epidermal renewal.
To investigate how VC affects skin regeneration, the team used human epidermal equivalents and applied VC at 1.0 and 0.1 mM—concentrations comparable to those typically transported from the bloodstream into the epidermis. On assessing its effect, they found that VC-treated skin showed a thicker epidermal cell layer without significantly affecting the stratum corneum (the outer layer composed of dead cells) on day seven.
By day 14, the inner layer was even thicker, and the outer layer was found to be thinner, suggesting that VC promotes the formation and division of keratinocytes. Samples treated with VC showed increased cell proliferation, demonstrated by a higher number of Ki-67-positive cells—a protein marker present in the nucleus of actively dividing cells.
Importantly, the study revealed that VC helps skin cells grow by reactivating genes associated with cell proliferation. It does so by promoting the removal of methyl groups from DNA, in a process known as DNA demethylation.
When DNA is methylated, methyl groups attach to cytosine bases, which can prevent the DNA from being transcribed or read, thereby suppressing gene activity. Conversely, by promoting DNA demethylation, VC promotes gene expression and helps cells to grow, multiply, and differentiate.
The researchers further identified over 10,138 hypomethylated differentially methylated regions in VC-treated skin and observed a 1.6- to 75.2-fold increase in the expression of 12 key proliferation-related genes.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
The brand is Wholesome Wellness. Available on Amazon. I take 1500 mg. daily.
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