In this article:
Where is the extracellular matrix located?
What is extracellular matrix composed of?
What does the extracellular matrix do for skin?
What is the function of the extracellular matrix in the dermis?
What happens to ECM as we age?
Skin care and the ECM
The extracellular matrix (ECM) is to your body what the foundation is to a house. Without foundational support, the house (and your body) would break down.
This complex, multi-faceted structural network helps regulate cellular communication in the human body, including our skin (1).
It "constitutes over 70% of our skin,” according to board-certified dermatologist Dr. Corey L. Hartman, giving it the elasticity to bounce back when stretched, maintain its taut shape and support its underlying firmness, all without you having to do anything.
Where is the extracellular matrix located?
The extracellular matrix is found throughout the body (1). It works behind the scenes to achieve and help maintain what researchers refer to as “homeostasis”, another word for balance.
What is extracellular matrix composed of?
The composition and organisation of the ECM varies depending on its location. For example, the matrix for skin has a different mix of proteins, enzymes and even a different cellular adhesion style than the matrix for the heart (2).
Regardless of location or specific role in the body, the ECM contains a combination of proteins, such as collagen and elastin. Enzymes and complex sugars known as proteoglycans go on to form glycosaminoglycans, such as hyaluronic acid that enable flexibility. There’s also a whole series of signaling and adhesion molecules, and proteins that serve as messengers or binders between cells, that form the very architecture of the body, moderating and protecting everything inside (2, 3).
What does the extracellular matrix do for skin?
As it turns out, quite a lot! Researchers once thought skin’s extracellular matrix had a passive role, providing only structure and support, such as what cross beams do for a ceiling. Now we know that it does so much more, playing a wide-ranging role that silently assists in maintaining skin so it has the best chance of remaining healthy and able to do its job (4). And it does all this on its own, one of the true wonders of the human body.
Skin’s matrix goes about its business via a highly sophisticated, amazingly complex communication network that’s constantly working. Numerous signaling proteins and message transporters “tell” skin what to do, including how to reorganise in response to damage. It’s essentially a checks-and-balances system that not only renews and repairs but also helps dispose of spent and damaged cells that would otherwise get in the way of normal, healthy processes that keep skin and our bodies humming along (5).
What is the function of the extracellular matrix in the dermis?
Its primary function involves fibroblasts, cells within this layer of skin that make collagens and a precursor to elastin known as tropoelastin. These flexible, specifically shaped proteins spread evenly and compact in the dermis, giving skin most of its resiliency and strength (6). Without this underlying support, skin can begin to sag and appear crepey.
Not surprisingly, with accumulated environmental damage, the fibrous support network in the dermis begins to weaken and eventually fragment as protein-degrading enzymes further erode their ability to support skin (7).
What happens to ECM as we age?
No question, the extracellular matrix deteriorates with age and especially from accumulated sun damage—yet another reason to make daily sunscreen use a habit! Years of unprotected exposure to the sun and other inflammatory external aggressors accelerate what happens to the ECM with age, causing collagens and elastin to fragment, stiffen, and crosslink improperly. This breakdown leads to the appearance of deeper, cross-hatched wrinkles and surface laxity since skin’s underlying support has atrophied. Further, skin becomes unable to bounce back because its communication system is disconnected (8).
Dr. Matt Kaeberlein, a Seattle-based expert in longevity science, notes that “biological ageing of the skin is driven by the same hallmarks of ageing as the rest of the body. In particular, telomere shortening, mitochondrial dysfunction, epigenetic alterations, stem cell exhaustion and cellular senescence all appear to play critical roles in age-related declines seen in skin fibroblasts and the ECM” (9). Let’s break that down.
The amount of dermal fibroblasts, the cells we mentioned earlier that make collagen, see a drop in production by an average of 35% with increasing age. This loss means skin’s dermis layer is less able to maintain tensile strength and thickness, one reason why older skin tends to become thinner and less able to bounce back quickly when stretched (3).
At the same time, other cells in the skin are undergoing a process called senescence, which can result from damaging insults such as UV light exposure or from reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced as a byproduct of normal metabolism. Cellular senescence happens in every part of the ageing body; in this process, normal cells lose the ability to divide, instead becoming “zombie” cells that secrete inflammatory signals.
These faulty signals disrupt the normal functions of neighboring healthy cells and tissues since they send the wrong messages. Senescent skin cells also release a variety of factors that actually change the composition of the matrix, causing nearby cells to become dysfunctional. According to Dr. Kaeberlein, “this creates a vicious cycle that accelerates age-related declines in both resident skin cells and their surrounding matrix.”
Skin care and the ECM
By making smart skin care choices and following a consistent routine, you can help support the ECM as you age and help keep your skin looking and feeling younger, longer. “One of the big things you can do to help prevent visible signs from ECM changes is by using antioxidant-rich products to help keep free radical production under control. Free radicals are unstable molecules that promote chain reactions on and within skin which ultimately lead to multi-layer damage,” according to Dr. Hartman.
Daily use of a broad-spectrum sunscreen significantly helps protect the ECM from signs of premature ageing. Along with staples such as sunscreen, you can also help keep the skin matrix protected by using ingredients like peptides and antioxidant-rich products (10, 11, 12). You can also support healthy-looking skin by following a gentle skin care routine that includes powerhouse ingredients such as retinoids and hydrating hyaluronic acid (13).
Specifically, a product such as our Pro-Collagen Multi-Peptide Booster can help promote visible improvement particularly for skin showing loss of resiliency, radiance, and a reduced ability to maintain surface hydration that confers a plumped appearance. Think of your skin's underlying support like a mattress with coils that start to sag and lose their bounce over time: this specialised formula’s six peptides plus key supporting ingredients work to reduce the look of lines and wrinkles while restoring a firmer look and feel, much like how a well-made bed looks smooth instead of rough and rumpled.
This is why taking such good care of skin is so important: by doing your best to minimise environmental damage and dehydrating elements, you’re also working to keep skin’s lower layers protected so they can do their jobs of maintaining and supporting the architecture for smooth, healthy-looking skin.
Learn more about anti-ageing.
References for this information:
- Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews, February 2016, pages 4–27
- The FEBS Journal, December 2021, pages 6,850–6,912
- International Journal of Molecular Sciences, June 2022, pages 1–15
- Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, July 2021, pages 1–19
- Matrix Biology, June 2021, pages 1–8
- Journal of Cell Communication and Signaling, June 2018, pages 35–43
- Journal of Investigative Dermatology Symposium Proceedings, August 2009, pages 1–11
- Clinical and Experimental Dermatology, July 2022, pages 1,314–1,323
- Cell, June 2013, pages 1194-1217
- Experimental Dermatology, June 2011, pages 477-482
- Current Protein and Peptide Science, August 2021, pages 716-728
- Pharmaceutical Biology, January 2022, pages 225–234
- Maturitas, March 2015, pages 275–272
