Abstract: Objective To explore the influence of 17 beta estradiol (17β-E2) with different concentrations on the synthesis of collagen and elastin of cultured human skin fibroblasts (hSFB) at different time points in vitro. Methods Human fibroblasts were cultured with different concentrations of 17β-E2 (10-7, 10-8, 10-9, 10-10, 10-11 mol/L) for 24 hours, 48 hours and 72 hours. The corresponding RNA was extracted at respectively time points, then mRNA expression of type Ⅰprocollagen, typeⅢprocollagen and tropoelastin were detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method. Results The mRNA expressions of procollagen Ⅰ, procollagen Ⅲ and tropoelastin were not changed in 24 hours, but up-regulated in 48 hours and declined in 72 hours by 17β-E2 stimulations. On 48 hours, the synthesis of procollagen and tropoelastin stimulated with 10-10 mol/L of 17β-E2 was significantly increased, compared with the other concentrations. On 48 hours with the same concentration, the up-regulated effect on synthesis of procollagen and tropoelastin was different, the effect on procollagen was stronger than tropoelastin, especially procollagen Ⅲ. Conclusion 17-E2 has a certain role in promoting the synthesis of collagen and elastin, though the influence is different according to different culture time and different concentration, and the most effective concentration and culture time are 10-10 mol/L and 48 hours respectively.

Key words: 17β-estrogen, Human skin fibroblast, Collagen, Elastin