New anti-ageing serum reverses skin damage in major breakthrough

Telegraph

07-04-2025

A serum has been shown to restore circadian rhythms in the skin to allow genes to repair damage more efficiently in a major cosmetic breakthrough.
Experts at the University of Manchester and No7 discovered a skin repair 'rush hour' between 2am and 4am, where genes responsible for renewing damaged cells ramp up, but found that it was majorly disrupted by sun over-exposure.
People with sun damage were found to be suffering from a kind of 'skin jet lag' with repair 'clock' genes – which synchronise circadian rhythms – dialling down or switching on an hour later.
Researchers believe that disruption of skin circadian rhythms likely contributes to accelerated ageing.
Chronobiology labs at the University of Manchester have been trialling different compounds to find out if any can help restore lost rhythms and reset the body's own repair mechanisms and repair damage.
'Rapidly evolving field'
They came across a root extract from Lindera Strychnifolia – an evergreen shrub used in traditional medicine in east Asia – and the ingredient has now been incorporated into a new serum which No7 is releasing this week, specifically to boost nighttime cell activity.
'Chronobiology is a relatively new and rapidly evolving field of science that examines circadian rhythms (our 24-hour body clocks) among other periodic processes, in living organisms,' said Qing Jun Meng, professor of chronobiology, at the University of Manchester.
'Chronobiology research has made significant advances in biomedical fields, both in identifying physiological processes under circadian control and in exploring the potential for timed drug applications and interventions.
'We see great potential in harnessing chronotherapy to optimise effectiveness and minimise side effects.'
Pharmaceutical companies are already starting to harness the importance of timing for giving drugs to maximise efficiency and minimise side effects. Blood pressure pills are now given at night, while chemotherapy drugs for cancers such as glioblastoma are given in the morning.
In the research, 20 participants were brought into the lab and asked to give skin biopsies at four time points, including the middle of the night and early morning.
The volunteers were asked for samples from both sun-exposed forearms and sun-protected buttocks.
After studying 57,500 genes the results showed that 64 per cent of rhythmic genes were most active between 10pm and 7am, with a rush hour between 2am and 4am.
However, the research showed that circadian rhythms are disrupted in sun-exposed skin, with 33 per cent fewer rhythmic genes identified, 93 per cent of which had weaker levels of expression.
Disrupted rhythms include genes linked to critical skin processes such as cellular energy, cellular renewal and DNA repair.
The window of peak gene expression was advanced by one hour in exposed skin, indicating a 'skin jet lag' and the team found that 82 per cent of genes involved in DNA repair had reduced their strength.
Dr Mike Bell, No7's head of science research, said it showed why beauty sleep and targeting treatments for night time was important.
'Our sleep, wake cycle is an example of a circadian rhythm and it's all about allowing the body to adapt to what's coming next and to manage resources because there's no point in everything being up-regulated and happening at the same time all through the day,' he said.
'At night time, renewal and repair is happening but we knew there were some gaps in our knowledge so we've done a study which is a first of its kind, because it's very rare that you get human volunteers, giving biopsies round to the clock.
'The first thing we found is that actually night time is a busy time for the skin and while we're asleep, the skin certainly isn't asleep.
'Nearly two thirds of these rhythmic skin genes were peaking in their expression and in their activity and controlling things like remodelling of the skin, things like repair and scaffolding, collagen production, all things that link to repair processes and renewal processes.
'The other thing we found is that in sun exposed skin, there's disruption of the rhythms. The body also has some 'master conductor' clock genes which beat time for the body, and nearly half of those had stopped being rhythmic in damaged skin.
'So you've got half the conductors that are basically dropping their batons while the others are still carrying on,' said Dr Bell.
Re-synchronisation
The team wanted to find something that could restore the lost rhythms and found that an antioxidant they had used previously – Lindera Strychnifolia – could help genes to re-synchronise.
Lindera Strychnifolia is used in traditional Asian medicine to treat stomach and liver disease.
'It's synchronising the rhythm of all these skin cells, because all of them are conducting the rhythm at the same time, rather than at different times and we are really excited about that,' added Dr Bell.
'What that means functionally, is cells renewing and replicating.This latest work has exciting implications including how the application of chronotechnology could be critical in maximising the benefits of active ingredients already known within the skincare industry.'
The team has now added Lindera Strychnifolia into its Future Renew peptide blend which signals the skin to trigger regeneration – a major breakthrough announced two years ago which is being investigated by dermatologists for use in wound and scar healing.
No7 is a brand of skincare, beauty products and anti-ageing creams developed by Boots. Its Future Renew Night Serum is released on April 9.
The research was showcased at the American Academy of Dermatology's (AAD) annual conference in Orlando in March and will also be presented at The British Society of Investigative Dermatology's (BSID) annual conference in London in April. Details of the research will also be published in the British Journal of Dermatology and a full peer-reviewed paper is in preparation.