ANTI-AGEING 53


250 200 150 100 50 0


Control type I Col type III Col type VI Col Elastin Fibronectin


1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0


Control Hyaluronic acid


Figure 1: Treatment with WP Complex leads to an increase in expression of structural components of the dermis


■ Elastin: Provides extensibility and elastic recoil. Forms fibres that allow skin to stretch under tension and return to its original shape. Integrated with collagen, elastin maintains dermal resilience.17 ■ Fibronectin: Functions as a structural organizer of the extracellular matrix. Forms fibrillar scaffolds that guide collagen deposition. Links cells to the ECM through integrins, and maintains dermal cohesion and mechanical stability.18 ■ Hyaluronic acid: A highly hydrophilic glycosaminoglycan that maintains tissue hydration, provides viscoelastic cushioning, organizes the extracellular matrix, and supports nutrient diffusion and cell signaling. It is essential for dermal turgor and resilience.19


Supportive components of the


dermis ■ Collagen Type V: A regulatory fibrillar collagen that co-assembles with collagen Type I as well as collagen Type III, controlling fibril diameter and quality of collagen types I and III. By fine-tuning collagen fibril organization, it is essential for the structural integrity, strength, and resilience of dermal connective tissue.20 ■ Fibrillin-1: Is essential for the organization, stability, and functional integration of elastin fibres in maintaining skin elasticity. Assembles into microfibrils that provide the scaffold for elastin deposition. Anchors elastic fibres to the extracellular matrix.21 ■ Fibulin-5: Its main role is to enable organized elastin assembly. It is an ECM glycoprotein that anchors tropoelastin to fibrillin scaffolds, promoting proper deposition, cross-linking, and maturation of elastic fibres.22,23


Structural components of the


basement membrane ■ Integrin α6: Forms laminin-binding heterodimers that anchor basal keratinocytes to the basement membrane. Through hemidesmosomes, it links keratin filaments of keratinocytes to laminin-332, providing stable adhesion and mechanical integrity.24 ■ Laminin-332: Provides the essential structural link between basal keratinocytes and the underlying dermis. By binding integrin α6 and interacting with collagen VII anchoring


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Figure 2: Treatment with WP Complex leads to an increase in expression of hyaluronic acid


fibrils, it anchors hemidesmosomes, which bind keratinocytes to the basement membrane, to the dermal collagen network, ensuring mechanical strength and epidermal adhesion.25 ■ Collagen Type IV: Forms a sheet-like network that serves as the structural scaffold of the basement membrane. By integrating laminin-332 above and collagen VII anchoring fibrils below, it provides mechanical stability, compression resistance, and an essential platform for cell adhesion at the dermal–epidermal junction.26,27 ■ Collagen Type VII: Forms anchoring fibrils that secure the basement membrane to the underlying dermis. Links laminin-332 and collagen IV to interstitial collagens I and III in the dermis. It provides tensile strength to the skin and prevents epidermal–dermal separation under mechanical stress.28,29


A growth factor-based approach Milk is considered a vital part of the diet of several populations, with an estimated 600 million people worldwide as regular consumers.30 Historically, milk has been celebrated for its healing and anti-ageing properties. Over the last hundred-odd years, the science of understanding the biological benefits of dairy products has evolved strongly, resulting in the knowledge that milk is an extremely rich source for molecules which are important, if not to say essential for the human body.31 Milk is the sole source of nutrition during the


early neonatal period and is endowed with a wide range of factors, which modify biological activity and provide protection. These biological response modifiers include many components, such as growth factors, immune factors, amino acids, vitamins, minerals, oligosaccharides and bioactive peptides, which are involved in mother–infant communication and which offer a wide range of biological activities.32 Based on the ever-evolving knowledge


concerning the benefits of milk, CLR Berlin GmbH has developed WP Complex (MPC™ - Milk Peptide Complex, INCI: Whey Protein) as an active ingredient which is based on milk and is rich in growth factors. Growth factors are naturally occurring proteins that act as signaling molecules in the body, including skin. They regulate cell


processes by binding to their specific receptors on the surface of target cells.33 By binding to the aforementioned fibroblasts,


growth factors activate the production of the structural and supportive components of the dermis and basement membrane, which are described above. With WP Complex, a plethora of in vitro and in vivo studies have been performed, resulting in unequivocal conclusions: WP Complex promotes the production of all-important constituents and supportive components of the dermis and basement membrane (dermal- epidermal junction) which, consequentially, leads to both extremely significant and quick results, firming skin and reducing wrinkles.


In vitro experiments Human dermal fibroblasts (obtained from the abdomen of a 39 year-old female volunteer) were seeded into the individual wells of a 24-well plate in cell culture medium. When the cell laying rate in the 24-well plate reached 40% - 60%, WP Complex was administered (400 μg/ml), with three replications in each group. Blank control group was added with 1ml culture medium in each well. After sample administration, the 24-well plate was placed in a CO2 incubator (37°C, 5% CO2


) and


was incubated for 24 hours. After incubation, the cells were fixed with 4% paraformaldehyde, and after 30 minutes fixation, immunofluorescence detection was performed, fluorescence microscope photographs were taken and analysed by Image-Pro®Plus Image processing software. The results are shown in Figures 1-6; controls are set at 100%. WP Complex has an extraordinarily strong


effect on the synthesis of hyaluronic acid. In addition, WP Complex boosts the production of all other main dermal structural collagens, elastin and fibronectin by human dermal fibroblasts. As the assembly and architectural organization


of these complex structural fibres in the dermis requires supportive components such as collagen type V, Fibrillin-1 and Fibulin-5, it is important to emphasize that WP Complex promotes the dermal production of the components as well (Figure 6). Altogether these results support the notion that WP Complex not just increases the


January 2026 PERSONAL CARE MAGAZINE


Expression (%)


Expression (%)


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