Age-related changes of angiomotin and endostatin content in human skin

Abstract

Angiomotin- and endostatin-positive structures were studied by the indirect immunohistochemical method in the skin of human fetuses that died antenatally from different causes in the 20th to 40th weeks of pregnancy and in skin samples extracted during the autopsy of humans who died from different causes at ages from 1 day to 85 years. The cells of epidermis, the fibroblasts, sweat and sebaceous glands of the dermis, and the blood vessels had a positive reaction to angiomotin and endostatin. Considering the fundamental importance of angiomotin and endostatin for angiogenesis, we studied the content of these substances in the blood vessels. Angiomotin-positive blood vessels were detected in skin samples of humans of all ages. An agedependent decrease was found in the angiomotin content in blood vessels of the dermis; it was more strongly expressed in humans aged 61–85 years. Endostatin-positive blood vessels were detected in the skin samples of humans of all ages. An age-dependent increase in the endostatin content in blood vessels of the dermis was found. The change in the angiomotin and endostatin contents and the balance between these substances probably have a negative effect on the angiogenesis processes in human skin during aging.