The image of dysfunctional skin cells that have stopped dividing but simply will not die, loitering in our bodies like mouldy apples poised to turn the whole barrel to sludge, is an understandably evocative one for skin care brands.
So it should come as no surprise that beauty’s longevity pioneers, such as L’Oréal’s Vichy and skin health player OneSkin, have ‘zombie cells’ firmly in their sights.
But what are they, exactly; and why are they likened to cinema’s favourite brain-eating monsters?
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Professor Vassilis Gorgoulis, Chair of Clinical Molecular Pathology at the University of Dundee’s Faculty of Health, is at the forefront of research into so-called zombie cells, having recently led the development of a platform to selectively eliminate them with minimal systemic toxicity.
He tells Cosmetics Business: “Senescent cells are also known as zombie cells due to several features that they exhibit. They are viable yet non-dividing cells; they do not die although they are damaged and have lost their normal function.”
Zombie cells: Not all bad
Cells become senescent in response to various stress insults, which may be external (UV radiation, chemicals and nanoparticles) or internal (oxidative stress, DNA damage), he explains.
Contrary to their George A. Romero-inspired name, zombie cells are not necessarily the ‘bad guys’.
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