Development of age spots as a result of accumulation of aged cells in aged skin

TL;DR

This paper explains how age spots develop due to the accumulation of aged cells and lipofuscin bodies in skin, using the Misrepair mechanism to analyze their characteristics and formation process.

Contribution

It introduces a new hypothesis linking aging tissue, cell death, and fibrotic encapsulation to age spot development based on the Misrepair-accumulation aging theory.

Findings

Age spots are formed by aggregated aged cells containing lipofuscin.

Flat spots develop from accumulation of lipofuscin-laden cells.

Protruding spots result from cell death and fibrotic encapsulation.

Abstract

Age spots are the brown spots that develop in the skin but change in color and shape with time. To understand the mechanism of development of age spots, characteristics of age spots are analyzed by Misrepair mechanism, a mechanism introduced in Misrepair-accumulation aging theory. An age spot is pathologically a group of aggregated basal cells, which contain lipofuscin bodies. Accumulation of lipofuscin bodies is a sign of aging of a cell. Characteristics of age spots include: inhomogeneity in distribution, growing flatly before becoming protruding, irregularity on shape, inhomogeneity on the color and on the protruding degree of a spot, and softness of a protruding spot. After analyzing these characteristics, we make a hypothesis on the process of development of an age spot. A. Aging of a tissue is the basis for development of age spots. B. A flat spot results from accumulation of lipofuscin containing cells. When an aged cell remains, this cell can accelerate the aging of its neighbor cells by increasing damage sensitivity and reducing repair efficiency of the local tissue. By a viscous circle, more and more neighbor cells become aged and they form a flat spot, which has an irregular shape. C. A protruding spot develops when some of the cells in a flat spot die and release lipofuscin bodies. For the survival of an organism, the un degradable lipofuscin bodies have to be isolated by a capsule made by fibrotic membrane, for maintaining the structural integrity of local epidermis. Successive deaths of lipofuscin containing cells make the capsule include more and more dead substances by layers of fibrotic membrane. In this way, the spot "grows" in three-dimension, resulting in protruding of the spot. In conclusion, development of an age spot is a result of accumulation of aged cells in aged skin.