Comprehensive functional evaluation of a novel collagen for the skin protection in human fibroblasts and keratinocytes

The collagen had been widely used as a promising source of functional food supplements for skin care. Here, we developed a novel animal-derived collagen that displayed multiple functions for protecting the human skin cells under UV irradiation. Different evaluations were performed to explore the protective effects of this collagen on human skin fibroblasts and keratinocytes. Specifically, we found that our collagen could induce the production of collagen I, elastin, and hyaluronic acid in fibroblasts and could also enhance the skin wound healing ability. Besides, it could elevate the expression of aquaporin-3 and cluster of differentiation 44 in keratinocytes. Moreover, this collagen had been demonstrated to alleviate the generation of reactive oxygen species and the malondialdehyde content in UVA-treated fibroblasts, as well as the secretion of inflammation factors in keratinocytes. These data indicated that the novel animal-derived collagen was a hopeful material for the comprehensive protection of the skin cells and the prevention of skin aging.