Dead Sea minerals: New findings on skin and the biology beyond

Evaluation of climate, water and peloid of the Pink Lagoon of Torrevieja and its possible use in thalassotherapy

The Pink Lagoon in Torrevieja is found in the Bajo Segura region of the province of Alicante (Spain). This exorheic lake of marine sedimentary origin was connected to the Mediterranean Sea up until Quaternary times. Today it acts as a salt flat, receiving water from its neighbouring Lagoon La Mata and brine from washing of the El Pinoso quarry. The purpose of the work is to study its environmental resources: the factors of the climate, the physicochemical properties and the composition of the waters, the thermal and textural characteristics of the natural peloid, and assess their possible use as thalassotherapeutic agents. The results obtained: marine climate; hypothermal water of strong mineralization (390 g/l), hypersaline, rich in magnesium sodium chloride and extremely hard; and lime muds of mineral sediment mainly organic with a low water content and scarce hardness and adhesiveness. They allow their application in thalassotherapy, obtaining the best results in musculoskeletal and skin disorders.

Smart Fluids As Autophagy-Activating Photoprotectors: In Vitro Analysis of Dead Sea Water and Magnetized Saline Water Against Ultraviolet B (UVB)-Induced Photodamage in Human Keratinocytes

Background Autophagy induction has been shown to mitigate both ultraviolet B (UVB)-induced DNA damage and inflammation. Smart fluids, including Dead Sea water (DSW) and saline magnetized water (MW), have recently been suggested to promote autophagy activation. This in vitro study was designed to investigate the ability of DSW and saline MW to inhibit the formation of UVB-induced cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPDs) and the expression of the NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome in UVB-irradiated HaCaT cells, a well-established, spontaneously immortalized human keratinocyte cell line. Methods To explore whether autophagy mediated the photoprotection induced by smart fluids, we measured two established autophagy markers (beclin-1 and LC3B) in HaCaT cell lysates and examined how wortmannin, an autophagy inhibitor, modulated the smart fluids' effects on post-irradiation CPDs and NLRP3 inflammasome levels. Results Compared to unirradiated control cells not exposed to any fluid (set at 1 a.u.), pretreatment with DSW (15.7 ± 1.9 a.u.) and saline MW (11.3 ± 1.6 a.u.) markedly reduced CPD formation in UVB-irradiated cells compared to two control fluids (saline non-MW: 20.9 ± 0.8 a.u.; distilled water: 21.4 ± 0.6 a.u.) (all p < 0.001). Notably, among the two smart fluids, saline MW significantly outperformed DSW in terms of DNA protection (p < 0.001). Conversely, DSW and saline MW demonstrated no statistically significant difference in NLRP3 inflammasome inhibition (p = 0.56). Both smart fluids effectively attenuated the UVB-induced decrease in beclin-1 and LC3B (all p < 0.001), although the observed effects were significantly more pronounced for saline MW (both p < 0.05). Notably, wortmannin either partially (CPDs) or completely (NLRP3 inflammasome) abrogated the photoprotective effects of both DSW and saline MW, suggesting that the observed chemopreventive properties were mainly attributable to their action as autophagy activators. Conclusions Our findings support the potential application of DSW and saline MW as sustainable active ingredients in topical skin products aimed at preventing UVB-induced non-melanoma skin cancers and cutaneous inflammaging.

Anti-aging and rejuvenating effects and mechanism of Dead Sea water in skin

OBJECTIVE

External environmental stressors and internal factors have a significant impact on the skin, causing inflammation, aging, reduced immunity and other adverse responses. Dead Sea Water (DSW) is well known for its dermatological benefits and has been widely used in dermatological therapy and skin care for conditions such as psoriasis, atopic dermatitis and photoaging. However, the anti-aging and rejuvenating effects of DSW and the related biological pathways involved, which have attracted increasing attention, are not fully understood. The aim of this study is to investigate the anti-aging and rejuvenating effects of DSW and to explore the related potential biological mechanisms of DSW under different environmental conditions.

METHODS

The effects of DSW were investigated using in vitro human dermal cells and reconstructed skin models. Extracellular matrix (ECM) components and the morphological changes at the dermal-epidermal junction (DEJ) in a 3D human skin model were evaluated after DSW treatment. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis of human dermal fibroblast models after DSW treatment was performed to explore the potential mechanisms of action of DSW under normal and UV stress conditions.

RESULTS

The novel findings in this work present the biological functions of DSW, including procollagen-1 and elastin secretion, hemidesmosome increase and the epidermal basal cell regeneration. In addition, GO, KEGG and Reactome analyses reveal the activation of pathways related to ion transmembrane transporter activity, ECM component biosynthesis, senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), DNA repair and autophagy, which are associated with the anti-aging activities of DSW.

CONCLUSION

Our work provides new perspectives for understanding the anti-aging and rejuvenating effects and mechanisms of DSW. The new findings also provide a theoretical basis for the further development of age-related strategies.

The Biological Role of Dead Sea Water in Skin Health: A Review

Applying natural mineral water to skin care is a popular tendency and many cosmetics products based on thermal spring water have been developed. The special location and environmental conditions provide Dead Sea water (DSW) with unique ion composition and concentrations, which bring comprehensive positive effects on skin health. This article reviews two potential action modes of DSW, and the biological function of DSW and its related complex in dermatology and skin care. Previous studies have proved the functions of skin moisturization, anti-inflammation, skin barrier repair, and anti-pollution. Especially, the anti-aging effect of DSW and related complexes can act in three different ways: keratinocyte rejuvenation, photo-protection, and cellular energy elevation. Additionally, the issues that need further investigation are also discussed. We hope that this review will help to improve the understanding of DSW and its related complex, and further contribute to product development in the skincare industry.

Cutaneous Nrf2-Keap1 pathway modulation by environmental factors: The Dead Sea area as a test case

The skin is constantly exposed to exogenous environmental stressors and has to cope with excessive oxidative stress and tissue damage. However, exposure to moderate environmental stressors may be beneficial for the cutaneous tissue and assist in protecting against oxidative damage via the enhanced activation of the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2-Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (Nrf2-Keap1) pathway. Such moderate stressors can be found in various locations around the globe. In this manuscript, we chose to focus on the Dead Sea (DS) area as a test case to study the effect of moderate stressors on the cutaneous tissue because of the unique combinations of moderate stressors in this area. The exceptional location of the DS at an altitude of -438 meters below sea level (the lowest place on earth) is responsible for its rare accumulation of moderate stressors such as high-water salinity, high atmospheric pressure, and unique solar radiation. In this manuscript, we hypothesized that the unique solar radiation in the DS area generates moderate oxidative stress in the skin leading to the induction of intracellular electrophiles, which in turn can activate the protecting Nrf2-Keap1 pathway. We showed that exposure of human skin organ culture from the same donor to solar radiation at the DS resulted in significant activation of the Nrf2-Keap1 pathway, induction of phase II enzymes, and lower apoptotic activity compared to a nearby location at a higher altitude (Jerusalem +700 m). This remarkable effect of activating the Nrf2 protecting pathway and the importance and characteristics of the solar irradiation at the DS is discussed.