Figure 1.

Effects of low-temperature argon plasma (LTAP) on the skin barrier and moisturizing factors in human epidermal keratinocyte cell line HaCaT and normal human epidermal keratinocytes (NHEKs). HaCaT cells and NHEKs were exposed to LTAP for 1, 3, or 5 min, and further incubated for 24 h. (A) Expression of filaggrin (FLG) and involucrin (IVL) was determined by Western blotting. Numerical values on the blots represent DU. The control was normalized to 1 DU. All data represent three independent experiments. (B) Expression of skin barrier and moisturizing-related genes (tansglutaminases (TGM), FLG, IVL and hyaluronic acid synthase-1, 2 (HAS-1, 2)) was measured by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) in HaCaT cells and NHEKs. Results are expressed as the mean ± SD of three independent experiments. * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001 (control vs. LTAP-exposed cells).