An iPS cell research center at one of Japan's top universities said said Thursday that it has entered into a collaborative research project to explore skin rejuvenation with the perfumery and cosmetics division of luxury French fashion house Christian Dior SE.

The Center for iPS Cell Research and Application at Kyoto University, a leading center for induced pluripotent stem cell research, will work with Parfums Christian Dior to analyze what factors are linked to certain signs of aging, such as wrinkles, by comparing the state of skin cells generated from the iPS cells of young and elderly donors.

In the future, the project will also investigate what substances are necessary for regeneration, and how skin cells change after being subjected to various everyday stresses, such as ultraviolet radiation and heat.

Dior Science, the research arm of the luxury brand, has for the past 20 years been exploring how skin cells transform with age and has made a series of discoveries in the cutaneous domain. It aims to utilize the center's stem cell technology to develop ways of regenerating skin cells and maintaining youthful skin.

The collaborative project also hopes to investigate the effects of advancing age on the status of mitochondria, which creates energy for cells, and conduct research using the laboratory's expertise on genome editing.

The center continues to conduct innovative research on the medical applications of iPS cells, which can be converted into any type of cell in the body, including regenerative medicine and the development of new drugs.

Link:
Japanese lab to collaborate with Christian Dior in iPS cell research - Japan Today