Regenerative medicine is a medical approach that harnesses the power of cells to regenerate lost functions in the body. When culturing cells necessary for regeneration, it is important to increase the number of healthy cells. However, a certain number of improperly functioning senescent cells are generated, and these cells release harmful SASP factors*1 that further reduce the number of surrounding healthy cells. For this reason, research on senolytics, an approach to eliminate senescent cells, has been actively pursued in regenerative medicine.
Shiseido, which has been conducting regenerative medicine research for many years, considered whether regenerative medicine could be applied to other fields and explored methods to eliminate senescent cells from the skin. The extract was originally found to increase the number of cells that make up hair follicles during hair regenerative medicine research*2. Shiseido found that special fatty acids in this extract have high physiological activity. After verifying its effects on skin, it became apparent that this extract may also positively affect fibroblasts.
*1 Senescence-associated secretory phenotype. A SASP factor refers to a general term for factors, including cytokines, chemokines, growth factors, and proteases, which are secreted by senescent cells. These factors cause inflammation and adversely affect surrounding cells, thus contributing to the progression of aging and related diseases.
*2 Shiseido developed coriander extract, which promotes the proliferation of hair matrix cells and hair root sheath cells, resulting in thick, resilient hair (1997).