Research Paper Volume 8, Issue 7 pp 1457—1469
Skin aging: are adipocytes the next target?
Figure 2. Possible role of adipocyte-myofibroblast transition in extrinsic aging. Absorption of UV radiation in the skin causes acute enlargement of the dWAT layer. However, upon chronic overexposure to UV radiation, it causes the depletion of dWAT and a concurrent development of cutaneous fibrosis, presumably through adipocyte-myofibroblast transition (AMT). Replacement of dWAT volume with fibrosis leads to production of mechanically heterogeneous skin structures and to the loss of the effective skin volume.