Tightenyl™ The skin matrix Bio-lifter

The Extracellular Matrix: the Architecture of Youth

The skin extracellular matrix (ECM) is crucial in the dermis and physically supports the dermis-epidermis junction. It is composed of fundamental macromolecules: polysaccharides (e.g. glycosaminoglycans such as hyaluronic acid and Sulfated GAGs), proteins (e.g. collagens and elastin), and hybrid protein-sugar molecules: proteoglycans. In baby skin, the extracellular matrix is perfectly organized, dense, compact and filled with these macromolecules. When aged, the visible appearance of the skin’s surface is directly linked to the quality of the ECM: if one or several structural pillar is missing or disorganized, then the epidermis starts to wrinkle and skin loses its visible youth.

S-GAGs and Proteoglycans Are Key for ECM Organization

Two major sulfated glycosaminoglycans (S-GAGs) play a key role in the maintenance of the ECM infrastructure: chondroitin sulfate and heparan sulfate. These hydrophilic sugar polymers capture water in the dermis and maintain its bio-mechanic properties. As opposite to hyaluronic acid, S-GAGs, attached to core protein, have a fundamental structural function to organize and maintain the architecture of the dermis: ▶ Versican (a core protein with a chondroitin sulfate side chain) creates connections between hyaluronic acid and elastic fibers to enable the skin viscoelasticity (suppleness of the skin). ▶ Perlecan (a core protein with heparan sulfate side chain) binds to and cross-links many ECM components and cell surface molecules. It plays a key role in the anchorage of the epidermis in the dermis as a major component of the dermis-epidermis junction network (strength of the skin). ▶ Decorin (a core protein with a chondroitin sulfate side chains) mainly binds to type I collagen fibers and controls the collagen fibers structure (firmness of the skin).

Tightenyl™: Bio-precursors for Matrix Rejuvenation

Tightenyl™ is a rational combination of bioavailable S-GAGs precursors: N-acetyl-glucosamine-6-phosphate, glucuronic acid, and magnesium sulfate in equimolar ratio. Once applied on the skin, these precursors help skin cells to relaunch the entire synthesis pathway of proteoglycans and their specific S-GAGs. Tightenyl™ shows very fast clinical results: ▶ In only 2 weeks, firmness, tonicity, viscoelasticity and plasticity are improved by more than 100% in average, showing the high power of restructuration of Tightenyl™. ▶ After 3 months, the dermis is perfectly reorganized and becomes the equivalent of a baby skin, from the inner skin to the visible level.