1. Introduction
Our skin epidermis constitutes the most important innate defense barrier against all pathogens and plays an important role in tissue homeostasis [
1]. Skin lesions may originate from common interactions with its environment (burns, infections, scarring, dryness…), genetic disorders, and other diseases [
2,
3]. Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a major chronic inflammatory skin disease caused by a complex interplay between the immune system, skin barrier abnormalities and deregulation of cutaneous microbiome [
4,
5]. Beside AD, psoriasis prevalence is high. Psoriasis alters skin, nails, and joints. It is caused by multigenic predisposition, environmental factors, and aberrant immune response [
6]. Restoring skin integrity involves multidimensional processes such as inflammation, proliferation, epithelialization, angiogenesis, remodeling, and healing [
7].
Marine collagen peptides (MCPs) have been shown to be an effective biomaterial for wound healing (WH) and skin regeneration [
8]. They are produced from collagen through both chemical and enzymatic hydrolysis. Their low molecular weight increases their water solubility, making them more assimilable and absorbable [
9]. Hu et al. demonstrated that MCPs isolated from the skin of tilapia improved wound closure in an in vitro scratch assay, with the concentration of 50.0 μg.mL
-1. They also demonstrated that the application of MCPs could enhance the process of WH in experiments of deep partial-thickness scald wound in rabbits. [
10]. Several groups have shown beneficial effects of MCP supplementation on skin healing in rats. Yang et al. demonstrated that oral administration of MCPs isolated from Alaska pollock, to wounded rats, significantly increased recovery rates and hydroxyproline content compared to the control groups. The treated group showed a near-normal epidermis structure on day 12 of healing, while control group displayed poor re-epithelialization [
11]. Wang et al. found that oral administration of MCPs prepared from salmon skin, improved WH following cesarean section in rats. The treated group showed increased level of hydroxyproline and elevated fibroblast proliferation and vascularization at 7 days post-treatment, compared to control group [
12]. Similarly, Zhang et al., demonstrated that oral administration of MCPs from chum salmon skin enhanced cutaneous WH and angiogenesis in rats. Improved vascularization, epithelization, and fibroblast infiltration were observed in the treated groups, as well as elevated levels of hydroxyproline [
13].
Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) from marine sources, essential components of the bone and cartilage tissues, have been described as potential therapeutic agents, and particularly as anti-inflammatory agents. They are all linear polysaccharide chains composed of repeating disaccharide units, which can be differently sulphated, generally grouped into four groups: hyaluronic acid (HA) or hyaluronan; keratan sulfate; heparan sulfate/heparin; and chondroitin sulfate (CS)/dermatan sulfate (DS) [
14]. CS/DS chains isolated from fish cartilage were shown to have significant anti-inflammatory activity. In vitro, Campo et al. demonstrated that CS from shark cartilage reduced inflammation mediators and apoptosis in mouse articular chondrocytes after stimulation with lipopolysaccharides (LPS) [
15]. More recently, addition of CS from shark cartilage to mouse bone-marrow derived macrophages stimulated with LPS and interferon-γ, produced a reduction in both, NO and pro-inflammatory cytokines release and an increase of the anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-10 [
16]. A similar trend was observed for fish cartilage hydrolysate (FCH) in primary human articular chondrocytes [
17]. Marine GAGs were also shown to impact wound repair. Krichen et al. showed that the application of GAGs from fish skins-based gels, on dermal full-thickness excision wounds in a mouse model, enhanced significantly WH activity. The treatment reduced the edema after carrageenan injection, protected edema tissue from oxidative damage and reduced the risk of inflammation [
18].
Recently, through an ex vivo clinical approach, we have demonstrated the nutricosmetic potential of FCH, which presents a combination of collagen peptides and GAGs. Indeed, the human serum enriched with circulating metabolites resulting from FCH ingestion (FCH-enriched serum), stimulated the growth of human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs), promoted the specific production of hyaluronan, up-regulated the synthesis of elastin and inhibited the expressions of matrix metalloproteinases (MMP)-1 and 3 along with an increase in TGF-β release. Thus, FCH promotes hydration, elasticity and limits the expression of catabolic factors involved in photoaging [
19]. Additionally, it was previously showed that supplementation of middle-aged healthy women with this FCH led to both, a significant reduction in wrinkles and an increase of dermis density [
20]. Here, we continued to investigate the potential benefit of FCH in human skin functionality. By coupling our
ex vivo clinical approach with a Data Independent Acquisition - Parallel Accumulation Serial Fragmentation (diaPASEF) proteomic analysis, we explored the effects of FCH-enriched serum in WH and its potential mode of action.
3. Discussion
In this study, to investigate the potential benefit of FCH in human skin functionality, we first set an ex vivo experiment combining the clinical digestive course of nutrients with in vitro assays. This approach represents a physiologic and ethic alternative to preclinical studies giving in vitro models a clinical dimension to evaluate the impact of the metabolized compounds in a nutraceutical context [
21,
22,
23,
24,
25]. Then, we performed a diaPASEF proteomic analysis, allowing the detection of proteome in depth [
26,
27], to explore the mechanism of action of human FCH-enriched serum on HDFs.
Our precedent study demonstrated the beneficial effects of FCH for nutricosmetic applications, by supporting hydration, elasticity and limiting the expression of catabolic factors involved in photoaging [
19]. Here, we studied whether FCH could promote the healing process, using a mimicking fibroblast lesion in vitro. FCH-enriched serum led to an increase in cell confluence in the wounded area after scratch wound assays performed on HDFs. This increase was consistent with the enhancement of the viability and proliferation by FCH-enriched serum, previously observed in XTT tests after 48h incubation [
19]. Therefore, FCH may enhance proliferation and migration of HDFs. However, here, enhanced migration was observed from 6 hours incubation thus supporting a specific enhancement of cell migration process rather than a simple proliferation artefact. To date, there was no impact of FCH-enriched serum on HDF proliferation after 24h incubation. As mentioned above, MCPs and marine GAGs, to a lesser extent, are studied for their facilitating role in the healing process [
8,
10,
11,
12,
13,
18]. Indeed, they may support skin tissue engineering by promoting both the proliferation and migration of primary HDFs and the differentiation and the migration of human keratinocytes as well [
8,
28]. Besides, we previously observed that FCH-enriched serum increased the release of TGF-β [
19], which is also involved in fibroblast proliferation and keratinocyte differentiation in WH [
29,
30]. Taken together, these results indicate that FCH appears as a promising nutrient for WH and skin regeneration.
Thanks to our proteomic strategy, we consistently show that FCH-enriched serum upregulated proteins relative to response to wounding, and in particular several members of the serpin family. Serpins (serine protease inhibitors or classified inhibitor family I
4) are a broadly distributed family of protease inhibitors that use a conformational change to inhibit target enzymes. They are central in controlling many important proteolytic cascades, including the mammalian coagulation pathways [
31]. Serpins are of particular interest in WH due to their inhibitory effects on specific proteases that are relevant to wound response including inflammation, ECM remodelling, cell migration and proliferation [
32]. Alpha1-antitrypsin (SERPINA1), has been described to reduce the activity of MMP-9, as well as the anti-inflammatory and the anti-apoptotic effects during the healing response [
33,
34]. Likewise, serpin A1, known as a potent inhibitor of neutrophil elastase, which hydrolyzes proteins including elastin, has therapeutic potential as a wound-healing agent [
35]. Furthermore, alpha1-antichymotrypsin (SERPINA3) displayed similar effects to alpha1-antitrypsin during the healing by accelerating wound closure in an experimental dermal open wounds in rabbits [
36]. Finally, it was shown that local administration of plasma protease C1 inhibitor (SERPING1) provided inhibition of edema formation, reduction of inflammatory tissue damage and increased re-epithelialization in experimental cutaneous burn lesions in animals [
37,
38]. We previously demonstrated that FCH-enriched serum inhibited MMP-1 and 3 expression while increasing elastin production in HDFs [
19]. Here, we have confirmed this increase using a proteomic approach (elastin: q value = 1.94.10
-6; absolute log2 ratio = 0.52) (
Supplementary Table S2).
FCH-enriched serum also induced the upregulation of several members of the complement activation pathway. Best known for its role in immune surveillance and inflammation, there is increasing evidence that complement activation contributes to tissue repair [
39]. Thus, increased collagen/fibronectin levels and enhanced WH were seen after topical application of complement C3 and -5 to rat skin wounds [
40,
41]. Other proteins from the response to wounding pathway, such as serotransferrin (TF), alpha-2-macroglobulin (A2M) or alpha1-acid glycoprotein (ORM) 1 and -2 were also upregulated by FCH-enriched serum. Indeed, TF was considered a potential wound-healing mediator in human nasal fibroblast conditioned medium [
42]. The different effects (
e.g., stimulation of cell proliferation and migration, interaction with collagen) of A2M and ORM, proteins with anti-inflammatory and immunomodulating properties, may suggest a beneficial role in WH [
43,
44].
As aforementioned for several members of the complement activation pathway, FCH-enriched serum upregulated proteins involved in the immune response. This also includes immunoglobulins. Indeed, constant region heavy chains of immunoglobulin A (1,2), G (1-4) and M, as well as constant and variable domain of immunoglobulin light chains, were increased. Nishio and collaborators demonstrated that B cells, which produce antibodies to damaged tissues, were engaged in the process of WH. Indeed, they showed that splenectomy delayed WH, and that the transfer of spleen cells into splenectomized mice recovered the delay in WH. Additionally, these authors showed that immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1) bound to wounded tissues and that splenectomy reduced the amount of IgG1 binding to wounded tissues [
45].
Additionally, FCH-enriched serum induced the upregulation of other proteins involved in the immune response, that have been described for their beneficial roles in skin pathologies such as AD and psoriasis (
e.g., zinc-alpha-2-glycoprotein (AZGP1, ZAG), guanylate-binding protein 2 (GBP2) and N-acetylmuramoyl-L-alanine amidase (PGLYRP2)). Noh
et al. reported a role for zinc-alpha-2-glycoprotein in AD pathogenesis and demonstrated that topical treatment with this protein, restored skin barrier integrity and limited AD inflammation [
46]. The guanylate-binding protein 2 is part of the GBP family, which is mainly known for its diverse activity against invading microbes and pathogens, as a part of innate immune response [
47]. Bowcock et al. found GBP1 and 2 transcripts differentially expressed in involved psoriatic skin versus normal skin [
48]. Peptidoglycan Recognition Proteins (PGRPs or Pglyrps) represent a class of innate immunity proteins expressed in the skin. Park
et al. demonstrated that Pglyrp2 protected mice from psoriasis-like skin inflammation by promoting Treg and limiting Th17 responses [
49]. Overall, these results confirm the healing promotion properties of FCH-enriched serum and suggest the induction of potential anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties that should be further investigated in skin pathologies.
Finally, FCH-enriched serum upregulated proteins related to GAG binding such as CCN family member 1 (CCN1), an heparin-binding, extracellular matrix-associated protein which appears to play a role in WH by up-regulating the expression of a number of genes involved in angiogenesis, inflammation and matrix remodeling (e.g., MMP1 and MMP3) in skin fibroblasts [
50]. FCH-enriched serum also induced the upregulation of polypeptides involved in GAG metabolic process such as inter-alpha-trypsin inhibitor heavy chain H1 and -2 (ITIH1, ITIH2). Recent in vivo and in vitro studies have shown that HC1 and HC2 are linked to HA resulting in the improvement of ECM stability [
51]. To note, we previously highlighted that HA synthesis was significantly stimulated in the presence of FCH-enriched serum [
19]. Aquaporin-1 (AQP-1), one of the down-regulated proteins by FCH-enriched serum, is a water channel protein controlling the water contents of cells and tissues. It exerts pleiotropic effects on various biological activities, including inflammation, angiogenesis, and ECM remodeling, by regulating cell behaviors and tissue water balance. AQP1 was shown to be up-regulated in systemic sclerosis dermal fibroblasts and endothelial cells, possibly contributing to inflammation, vasculopathy, and tissue fibrosis by regulating tissue edema and cell migration [
52]. Thus, FCH could contribute to skin functionality by promoting hydration and ECM stability.
Our study had several limitations. We investigated HDF proteome, comparing the influence of human FCH-enriched serum
versus naive human serum. First of all, despite all skills used to carefully wash the cells and remove supernatant prior to proteomic investigation on HDFs, we cannot exclude that some of the differential observed proteins originate from the serum. Indeed, immunoglobulins are produced by B cells rather than HDFs, therefore, the observed difference in this class of protein more likely result from immunoglobulins attached to HDFs. In this light, one may also question the difference regarding the proteins of the complement complex. In this case, fibroblasts from the dental pulp have been reported to express all the proteins required for efficient complement activation, including C5b-9 and C5a [
53]. More specifically, at the skin level, HDFs were previously demonstrated to successfully produce complement protein C4 [
54], C1r and C1s [
55]. Thus, even if a bias may occur for certain class of proteins, a differential expression still remains between the two conditions and clearly indicates a potent and positive impact of FCH on HDFs metabolism. On another hand, we performed the proteomic analysis in the absence of scratching, to avoid bias due to fibroblast lesion. It would have been also relevant to study HDF proteome upon scratching or in a context of IL-1β-induced inflammation, in order to get a global overview of the influence of FCH-enriched serum during WH or inflammation processes. HDF are key cellular players in regulating skin health, however, additional investigations on human primary keratinocytes may further provide clues on the possible influence of FCH-enriched serum on the keratinocytes/fibroblast cross-talks and their positive impact on skin health. Similarly, more complex and physiologically relevant models that involve the co-culture of primary keratinocytes and fibroblasts [
56], or skin organoids encompassing the epidermis, dermis, and appendages [
57], could be considered. Ideally, we would like to explore the effect of FCH-enriched serum on human skin explants to best fit structural and physiological resemblance to live skin tissue. They contain all resident cell populations from tissue, conserve their barrier function as well as the differentiation of the epidermal layer and the ECM composition. Above all, they can be healthy or lesional [
58]. Thus, we could evaluate the potential beneficial effects of FCH on skin explant models of DA or psoriasis Finally, it would be of great interest to study the effects of FCH-enriched serum on the skin microbiome.