Neurotoxins May Aid in Dermal Remodeling

Intradermal injections of botulinum toxin type A (BoNT) may offer some dermal remodeling effects, according to researchers at Chungnam National University’s Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery in South Korea. S.H. Oh, et al, measured procollagen type I carboxy-terminal peptide (PIP) in dermal fibroblasts grown in the presence of BoNT, using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Collagen production was monitored using Western blotting. The researchers also measured matrix metalloproteinase using gelatin zymography. Although the study, which appeared in the journal of Dermatologic Surgery (October 2012), revealed that “BoNT did not stimulate the proliferation of or show toxic effects on human dermal fibroblasts,” it did find significantly increased levels of PIP in fibroblasts grown in the presence of BoNT. The addition of BoNT also “upregulated the expression of type I collagen and decreased the production of some MMPs in fibroblasts that prevent collagen degradation.”